Necklace-Snatcher On Moped Targets Pedestrians In Midtown, Police Say

MIDTOWN, NY — Police are searching for a perpetrator in a balaclava who has been ripping New Yorker's necklaces off in Midtown, New York City Police Department officials said.

According to the NYPD, the perpetrator first snatched a chain off a victim's neck on July 11 at 2:50 a.m.

The victim, a 27-year-old man, was walking near Sixth Avenue and West 35th Street when the perpetrator, on a blue and black moped, approached him from behind and snatched the victim's chain off his neck, police said. Then, the the perpetrator sped away, police said.

The next incident happened on July 29 at 3:25 a.m., police said. A 47-year-old man was walking near Lexington Avenue and East 56th Street when a man on a blue and black moped approached him from behind, snatched his chain off his neck, and then drove away, police said.

A few days later, on July 31 at 2 a.m., a 27-year-old woman was walking on Eighth Avenue near West 53rd Street when the perpetrator, on a blue and black moped, approached from behind and snatched her necklace, police said. Then, the man drove away, police said.

No arrests have been made yet, police said. Police are investigating the pattern and looking for the suspect, who they said was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants, white sneakers and a black balaclava.

Police said anyone with information regarding this string of incidents can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips.

This is a developing story and will be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.