Police: 2 Suspects Wanted For Robberies, Assaults In Canarsie, Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are searching for a pair of robbers they say are targeting young victims in Brooklyn.
The duo is responsible for at least three incidents that took place within blocks of each other in Canarsie on the same day, police said.
Surveillance cameras captured the brutal beating of a 16-year-old boy on Avenue K around 5:50 p.m. on April 1. The suspects are seen using a gun to strike the boy repeatedly, leaving him with cuts and bruises on his head and across his body, CBS2's Ilana Gold reports.
The suspects then took off with the teen's iPhone, police said.
Just two hours after the attack, police said the same suspects forcibly swiped an iPhone from a 13-year-old girl on E. 86th Street.
"I saw the little girl, I saw the police hugging her outside," witness Sherryl Lewis said. "I am really angry. I have one child, she's also 13 years old."
The culprits also tried robbing a 20-year-old man at E. 86th Street and Avenue J that night but got away with nothing, Gold reported.
Sources tell CBS2 the suspects targeted the victims for their phones, saying at least two of them had the devices out before the crimes, Gold reported.
Now, people in the neighborhood aren't taking any chances.
"I'm concerned for my safety because if they can beat up a kid, they can do so to an adult," resident Suzette Ryan told Gold.
Ryan said she normally carries her phone in her hand but will now keep it in her pocket or purse.
"I'm definitely worried," resident Shawn Montrose said, adding that he told his children to "be careful when they're walking in the streets."
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.