The NYPD is looking for a group of suspects who they said ambushed and restrained an elderly man and woman with the use of zip ties and duck tape before taking off with the couple’s belongings, in addition to a safe, in the West Bronx last Thursday.
At approximately, 5:45 p.m, police said a 64-year-old man was approached by four individuals at his apartment in the area of Valentine Avenue and East Burnside Avenue where sources say the man was struck by a metal bar and firearm, eventually knocking him to the ground. Upon entering the apartment, the individuals tied up the man and his 60-year-old wife, before leaving their apartment with a slew of items including a safe, money, a purse and a backpack from the apartment.
Police sourced told the Bronx Times that attacks on the elderly have risen sharply in the past few weeks, and are possibly being targeted in robberies and home invasions due to a “perception of vulnerability.”
The individuals allegedly fled in a red Dodge sedan, while one is believed to have fled on foot toward East 180 Street and Valentine Avenue.
Police sources told the Times that the couple is shaken up after the attack, and the man sustained lacerations to the head and face and was removed by EMS to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment.
Anyone with information to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
