A string of violent crimes in Sheepshead Bay has left residents shaken as police search for the suspect responsible for a series of robberies, carjackings and a high-speed crash.
Police say it began around 7:20 p.m. Monday on East 17th Street, where a man in his 20s struck a 45-year-old man with a gun during an argument over money. The suspect left the scene empty-handed but didn’t stop there.
Police say the man entered a nearby apartment building minutes later, shoved a 70-year-old woman to the ground and stole her purse.
The violence escalated further blocks away, where the man carjacked a 26-year-old man at gunpoint, stealing his black Mercedes SUV. During his getaway, he sped the wrong way down East 16th Street and crashed into two vehicles. No one was injured in the crash.
Surveillance footage captured the chaos, and neighbors are now voicing their fears.
“I’m concerned. I’m even frightened because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. There’s so much traffic here, and you don’t know who these people are,” said Paulette, a Sheepshead Bay resident.
Police say the man abandoned the stolen SUV and attempted to carjack another driver before leaving the scene on foot.
As of now, the man is still on the loose. Police are urging anyone with information to contact the NYPD immediately.