Robber Barges Into Queens Hotel Room, Pepper Sprays Guest: NYPD

QUEENS, NY — A BB-gun toting robber barged into a Queens hotel room, where he put a woman into a chokehold before pepper spraying another, police said.

The Sunday robbery inside Casa Azul Hotel in Queens Village left two women, ages 39 and 42, with minor injuries and one of them without a phone, authorities said.

The terrifying room invasion began when an as-yet-unidentified man knocked on the women's room door inside the 220-16 Jamaica Ave. hotel about 3:30 p.m., NYPD officials said.

When the 42-year-old woman answered, the man flashed a BB gun and put her into chokehold, police said.

He then stole her Samsung Galaxy phone and pepper sprayed the 39-year-old woman before running off, authorities said.

The 42-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention, authorities said. The pepper spray attack left the 39-year-old with injuries to her face, for which medics took her to Long Island Jewish Hospital in stable condition, police said.

Police late Monday released a photograph of the suspected robber.

The suspect is a man about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds, black hair and facial hair, NYPD officials said. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, black pants and black shoes.

People with information are asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). They can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.