Crime & Safety
Wheelchair User Put In Chokehold, Robbed On Luxe Midtown Block: NYPD
A man sitting in a wheelchair outside Bergdorf Goodman's Fifth Avenue flagship was choked and robbed by a stranger, according to police.
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A stranger robbed and choked a wheelchair user in broad daylight on a high-end Midtown block this week, according to police, who asked for help finding the suspect.
The victim, a 40-year-old man, was in his wheelchair around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in front of 754 Fifth Ave., the building on the corner of 57th Street home to Bergdorf Goodman, police said.
An unidentified man walked up, put the victim in a chokehold and forcibly grabbed a cellphone from his wheelchair, according to police.
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When Good Samaritans tried to intervene, the suspect threatened them with a knife before fleeing on foot, police said.
The man in the wheelchair declined medical attention at the scene and nobody else was injured, police said.
Find out what's happening in Midtown-Hell's Kitchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Police on Friday released photos of the suspect taken at the scene of the robbery. Authorities asked anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.
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