Police: Man Covers Women's Mouths, Robs Them At Knifepoint At SoHo Subway Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are searching for a man wanted in connection with two knife-point robberies at a subway station in SoHo.
The suspect first struck last Tuesday morning at 10:53 a.m. on the A, C, and E subway platform on Spring Street. Police said he walked up behind a 50-year-old woman and covered her mouth and nose with a white cloth, pulled out a knife and demanded cash. He got away with $70, according to police.
The suspect struck again at the same spot Saturday morning at 10 a.m. He again approached a 49-year-old woman from behind, put a white cloth over her nose and mouth and pulled out a knife. Police said he took $75 from the victim's purse before running away.
Lucy Brinkerhoff ran from the café she works at across the street to check on the woman who was crying hysterically in the stairwell of the subway station late Saturday morning.
"I heard a scream, five screams, like really loud I've only heard in the movies," Brinkerhoff said. "I asked 'Are you OK? What's going on?' She said a man had attacked her at knife-point and she was totally shaken up," Brinkerhoff said.
Neither of the victims were hurt.
NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Fox said the attacks happened as the victims were "going up the stairway to leave the station."
Regular riders at the subway station are hoping someone recognizes the suspect.
"That's awful, really awful," Suzanne Weiner said. She said she waits on that very platform daily and can't imagine what was going through the victim's heads.
"I haven't had any issues," she said. "It's sort of disheartening to hear."
Weiner says the thought of the suspect still roaming around is enough to make her stay clear.
Police describe the suspect as a 25-year-old man, approximately 5'9" tall with a bald head. He was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a grey sweat jacket, a white T-shirt, white sneakers and a black backpack with a Nike logo.
CBS2 asked police if there was anything on the white cloth used by the suspect. They say there's no sign of the cloth or any other evidence left behind, CBS2's Erin Logan reported.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All calls are strictly confidential.
