Police are looking for the group of thieves responsible for robbing two New York City smoke shops.
The first incident occurred in the Two Bridges section of Manhattan, when the group approached a 22-year-old working behind the counter of a smoke shop at 51 Madison St. on Nov. 1, before discharging pepper spray into the victim’s face and stealing around $1,400 dollars and a cellphone from the store.
The suspects left the scene before police arrived at around 8 p.m, and paramedics took the victim to NY Downstate Hospital in stable condition.
On Nov. 7, the same group of robbers entered a smoke shop at 17 Bogart St. in Brooklyn, before pepper spraying a 26-year-old employee and stealing $300 dollars and marijuana products from the shelves.
Again, the suspects had fled the store before police arrived, and the victim was treated by EMS at the scene for his injuries.
No arrests have yet been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to 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, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
