Moped-Mounted Purse Snatchers Hit 7 Women In Midtown

MIDTOWN, NY — A pair of men on a moped are behind a mini-crime wave in October, targeting at least seven women in Midtown, according to police.

The victims are reportedly part of a purse-snatch crime spree, with the two crooks attacking at least 22 women in midday attacks across Manhattan during October, police said.

The brazen attacks all took place between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., according to police.

Pedestrians in Midtown, the Upper East Side, the East Village and Chelsea were all targeted, officials said.

The first robbery occurred on Oct. 2, when the pair riding their moped stole a purse from a 53-year-old woman at about 12:45 p.m. near East 30th and First Avenue, police said, adding that the woman was uninjured.

On Oct. 12, the crooks struck again, stealing a purse from a 54-year-old woman on East 36th Street and Lexington Avenue, police said.

Just three days later on Oct. 15, the pair decided to make a day of their crime spree and attacked five women in Midtown and one in Chelsea, according to police.

The victims were all women, aged between 20 to 40-years-old, police said, and the attacks took place on both the east and west sides of Midtown.

One of the women, attacked at West 36th Street and Eighth Avenue, was injured but refused medical attention at the scene, officials said. The crooks were unsuccessful in stealing her purse, police said.

Police released images of two people they say are connected to the incidents, showing two men on a black and also a blue moped.

Officials added that one of the men was most recently seen wearing a black jacket with fur on the hood.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).