West Village on Alert as Muggers Remain At Large

Police continue to maintain a heightened presence in the "Wild West Village" as they search for the two muggers responsible for a series of late night robberies and bloody attacks in the area over the last month. The only description of the pair is that they are "dark skinned," possibly so limited because they have been attacking their female victims from behind. Cops had originally said that the muggings were not part of a pattern, but now have confirmed that six are related. All have taken place between 11:30 pm and 2:45 am.

The Post talked to a recent victim who was robbed at Bleecker and West 10th Street. She recounted, "There were two guys - one had a hood on and a bandanna over his face. He grabbed me from behind and put a gun to my head. I was crying. I was agreeing with everything he wanted me to do. He said, 'Don't even think of f- - -ing screaming. Don't f- - -ing scream. Don't f- - -ing scream."

Just the other day, the crime wave prompted Speaker Christine Quinn to send out a letter to 9,000 constituents in the area warning them of the situation. It included basic safety tips about keeping your purse or wallet at home when going out late at night if it could be helped. Quinn also announced that there will be a community council meeting on the muggings on December 17, in the basement of Our Lady of Pompeii Church on Carmine Street, at 7:30 pm.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on December 14, 2008 1:15 PM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

They should build a Dunkin Donuts right next to the Path entrance and you will watch crime drop dramatically in the area.

tingo

This is ridiculous. The cops really need to get on it.

There's really a bad element that hangs around Christopher street too. I've seen several really bad fights break out, close to the Path train.

r1b2

More beat cops!

Snoopy

^The construction industry is a very dangerous industry. That's why you should insist on union labor.

NannyState

^ Well, they didn't really want those results to show but sometimes you can't control what a Caterpillar churns up at a construction site.

Snoopy

Jacque. Do you mean like it was when the Italians lived in the neighborhood? Now that was a neighborhood watch program that showed results.

JacqueMehoff

actually I could have sworn I've saw some "neighborhood watch" signs in the village. so some residents had a sense of community. don't know bout them now.

remember the PSA's for neighborhood watch programs to take a bite out of crime. the days of giat CB walkie talkies and hanging out of the window looking for troublemakers. come back, good buddy and put the pedal to the metal. jerry reed.

JacqueMehoff

and don't forget to bring your wooden cross and lighter fluid, maybe some rope.

Snoopy

Thanks for the description, "they are "dark skinned." Now I know who to look for when I take my jog through the village at 1 in the morning.

Did they speak with an Indian accent?

rcltrh

Hopefully at the council meeting on Wednesday they will give out handguns and tell everyone to shoot any pair of men seen together wearing a bandana or hood after 10:00. I would love to see the headlines of the pair being riddled with cop bullets like suggested by Splicer. All the worthless scum like that in this city need to be removed from the herd.

angry_pickle

they put a gun to the victim's head. Mace can or can't help you in that situation.

I seriously doubt a can of mace will help you at all. Mace doesn't totally disable someone's trigger finger. In fact it might even cause the trigger to be pulled instictively since you tend to curl your fingers when in pain. I'm not an expert but that's my reasoning.

Billiamsburg

Citizens on alert! Do not approach the dark skinned men in the village. If one approaches you, mace it or shoot in in the head as this is the only way to kill the dark skinned man. Lock your doors at night and do not allow women and children to go out alone. The national guard has been deployed. Remain calm citizens.

JacqueMehoff

different tone in this post, I'd say.

I think it's because this time they put a gun to the victim's head. Mace can or can't help you in that situation.

blablanyc

There's a lot of gang violence that doesn't get published because of the sensitivity to criminal investigations.

melp

Thanks to Gothamist for reporting this story without the snarky, judgmental and dismissive comments in the previous post on Friday.

chris lee

They could be comin' in either on Path train or W4th street. My guess though is they have wheels for their getaway

Splicer

At this point it's going to be down to either a lucky break or a police decoy operation to try and catch this scum before they decide to shoot someone just because they feel like it that day.

With some luck, when they are confronted, the street trash will reach into their jackets like tough little gangstas creating a situation where the police will have nothing else to do but fill them with about 75 bullets. A pity but Darwin will thank them for it.