Source: @nypdtips / Instagram
The New York Police Department is actively looking for a pair of robbers using mopeds as they hit victims Manhattan last month.
On Wednesday (Jan. 3), New York Police Department officials said they were actively searching for two men who were riding a dark-colored moped as they robbed victims in Manhattan last December. The incidents took place on December 15 and 18.
According to their reports, the first of the incidents occurred on the 15th in the Midtown area at First Avenue and 52nd Street as the couple went upstairs with a 38-year-old woman. They grabbed her bag with force, causing her to fall. The pair then sped away, according to witnesses. On the 18th, the pair went on a larger robbery spree lasting nearly three hours in Midtown, starting at 7:40 p.m., as they robbed three other women between the ages of 22 and 40. The spree ended when the two attempted to rob a man in his thirties.
The news comes as similar incidents have become more frequent in the city since 2022. Last October alone, there were multiple incidents numbering more than two dozen in Manhattan and the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn involving robberies of mopeds and e-bikes . The prevalence of these incidents has also taken up space in the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Instagram account recently, with posts capturing thieves on mopeds and scooters.
Despite these instances, the city did report a 9.7% decrease in robberies in November 2023 compared to the same period last year. There were no published statistics for December. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference held at One Police Plaza that the department had seized more than 27,000 illegal ATVs and unregistered mopeds last year as part of a focus on quality of life enforcement, up from 18,000 in 2022. the news , Mayor Eric Adams expressed enthusiasm. “The results are clear – crime is down, jobs are up, tourism is back,” Adams said. “But our work is not done. We don't pick up the ball. We don't say “Mission Accomplished.”
