Armed Forest Hills Train Robbers Mugged Queens Man At Home First: NYPD

QUEENS, NY — Hours before beating an older man with a gun in a violent Forest Hills train station robbery, two people robbed a senior outside his Kew Garden Hills home, police said.

The 68-year-old man was unlocking the front door to his home near 69th Avenue and Main Street about 6:45 p.m. June 8 when the two assailants walked up to him and pulled out guns, police said.

Using force, the men grabbed the man's backpack off his body and ran off, according to the NYPD.

The man wasn't hurt in the robbery, which turned out to be mostly for naught, as the backpack was empty, police said.

About an hour later, the assailants targeted an older man at a Forest Hills train station, repeatedly bashing him in the head with a gun and stealing his watch, jewelry and about $1,000 cash, according to the NYPD.

Police, who previously released a photo of one of the train robbers, said the same men are responsible for both incidents.

The NYPD described one as about 5-feet, 10-inches tall and the other as about 6-feet, two-inches tall.

The shorter man was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a black and blue multi-colored shirt, and blue jeans with black and red sneakers, police said.

The taller man was last seen wearing a red baseball cap, a black hooded sweatshirt, and black sweatpants with black and red sneakers, according to the NYPD.

Law enforcement officials asked that anyone with information about the robberies call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). All calls are confidential, according to the NYPD. People can also submit tips online or on Twitter.

Related Article: Man Beaten With Gun, Robbed By Duo At Forest Hills Train Station: NYPD