Brooklyn Thief Steals iPhone From 12-Year-Old Walking to School: NYPD

Photos courtesy of the NYPD

WEEKSVILLE, BROOKLYN — Police are looking for a suspect (pictured above) who allegedly stole a cellphone from a 12-year-old boy as he walked to school on the morning of Friday, March 11.

The victim was approached by the suspect as he passed in front of 1796 Bergen St. — located in Weeksville, between Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights — around 8 a.m., police said.

According to the NYPD, the suspect snatched the victim’s iPhone 6 from his pocket and escaped into the Kingsborough Houses. The victim fell down and suffered minor injuries, police said, but refused medical treatment at the scene.

Detectives described the suspect as 5-feet-6-inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair, police said, and was last seen wearing blue jeans; black sneakers; a black baseball hat with a white design on it; and a black sweater.

Anyone with information can report it confidentially via the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers website, or they can anonymously call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish speakers can call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The NYPD runs a free program known as Operation ID that lets residents register their electronic devices with the department. That way, if cops recover a phone or another valuable item after it is stolen, they can return the item to its rightful owner.

The March 11 cellphone snatching took place in the NYPD’s 77th precinct. According to official NYPD statistics, through March 20, major crimes in the 77th were collectively down about 6 percent compared to the same time period last year. Robberies specifically were down about 20 percent.