Crime & Safety
Robbers Are Snatching AirPods In FiDi, Police Say
Robbers took six pairs of Apple headphones off people's heads, as well as a 14-year-old's Moose Knuckles jacket.
NEW YORK CITY — The New York City Police Department is looking for two perpetrators responsible for a series of recent Apple AirPod headphone robberies largely concentrated downtown in the Financial District, officials said on Thursday.
According to the NYPD, between Feb. 10 and Feb. 18, the perpetrators tried to rob six pairs of headphones and one jacket off of pedestrians, mostly in the early evenings.
The first string of incidents was on Monday, Feb. 10, when the robbers took two pairs of headphones off of pedestrian's heads, first from a 29-year-old man in front of 99 John St. at 6:58 p.m. and then from a 30-year-old woman at 7:27 p.m. on Warren Street and Church Street, police said. The woman was able to grab them back, according to the NYPD.
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Later that night, the pair of robbers went to the corner of Merivale Lane and Bay Street in Staten Island and punched a 14-year-old boy multiple times in the face before taking the victim's Moose Knuckle jacket before running away, police said.
The boy was taken to a local hospital with a broken tooth, police said.
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Then, on Feb. 11 at 4:30, one robber took headphones off of an 18-year-old girl's head in front of 31 Warren St., before running away, authorities said.
Later that week on Feb. 13, the duo returned to the area and took headphones off of a 30-year-old woman's head in front of 50 Murray St. around 6:44 p.m., authorities said.
On Feb. 17, at 8:40 p.m., one perpetrator took headphones off of a 31-year-old woman's head in front of 107 Nassau St. before running away, police said.
The next day at 11:25 a.m., one man took a 16-year-old girl's headphones off her head at the corner of Peter Minuit Place and State Street, before running away, police said.
There have been no arrests yet and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
Police said anyone with information bout these incidents can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
This is a developing story and may be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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