Police Blotter: Another Metro PCS Becomes Robbery Target

Crime is down 22 percent in the 81^st Precinct for the week of July 23 – July 29 (29 incidents versus 37 incidents), compared to this same week in 2011. For the month, crime is down 7 percent (122 incidents versus 131 incidents), compared to this same 28-day period in 2011. Year to date, crime is up 8 percent (854 incidents versus 793 incidents), compared to this same time period last year.

Shooting:

On Sunday, July 29, at approximately 4:00 a.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in the thigh on Lafayatte Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard. According to police reports, the man said he was walking along Lafayette when he was attacked from behind. According to the victim, when he pushed the attacker off him, it caused the assailant’s gun to fire, shooting the victim in the leg. He checked himself into Woodhull Hospital. The victim provided no further details of the incident. The investigation is ongoing.

Robbery:

On Tuesday, July 24, at approximately 3:00 p.m., the Metro PCS store, located at 1232 Broadway Avenue, was robbed. According to police reports. According to the store’s employee, she was alone in the store when a man, described as a black male in his 50s, 5-foot-10, wearing a gray t-shirt, white shorts and white sneakers walked into the story and demanded she empty her cash register. The robber took $300. The suspect fled on foot down Broadway.

*Police officials are warning residents to be aware of their surroundings when shopping at cell phone locations in the neighborhood, as they have been an ongoing target of robberies: “These stores are hit up because they rarely have more than one employee working at one time, no buzzer and their windows are always covered,” he said. “We tell them this all the time, but nothing changes.”