A 73-year-old woman was shoved to the ground, kicked and robbed inside a Brooklyn tire shop Saturday morning, and the assailant brandished a firearm before fleeing the scene, police said.
The incident occurred around 8:40 a.m. inside JC Tires near Rockaway Parkway and Avenue N in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, the New York Police Department said. The attacker forcibly took the woman’s cellphone, then repeatedly kicked her and produced a handgun while issuing verbal threats, police said. Emergency medical technicians treated the victim at the scene; she was not hospitalized.
Police described the suspect as last seen wearing a green jacket, camouflage-colored pants, a black hat and a black face mask hanging off his chin. After the attack he fled on foot, traveling southbound on Rockaway Parkway. The NYPD released surveillance footage of the incident Saturday night and said detectives are investigating.
The assault is the latest in a series of crimes that police and local residents say have disproportionately affected older New Yorkers in recent weeks. Days earlier, authorities alleged that a man identified as Jamel McGriff killed and burned an elderly couple inside their Queens home; prosecutors said McGriff told police after his arrest, "I'll admit it. I killed them," and made other statements to that effect. In a separate case, prosecutors have said Servin Maradiaga, 43, sexually assaulted a 71-year-old woman in her Brooklyn home on Aug. 30.
The incidents have drawn attention from community members and added urgency to ongoing public-safety discussions in the city. Officials and advocates have in recent years traded views over policing strategies, resources for neighborhood safety, and services for vulnerable populations, including seniors.
The NYPD did not immediately release additional details about the Canarsie attack, including whether any arrests have been made. Detectives routinely seek assistance from the public in identifying suspects and ask anyone with information to contact their local precinct or Crime Stoppers.
The investigation remains active. Police are reviewing the surveillance footage and canvassing the area for additional witnesses and evidence as they work to identify and locate the suspect.