A man selling DVDs at a Bronx laundromat tried to steal a woman's iPhone—and then punched her six-year-old son when he tried to stop him, police say.
According to the NYPD, the incident occurred last Sunday around 4:45 a.m., when the 22-year-old mother and her child were inside a laundromat at 1720 Boone Avenue. A man approached them, selling DVDs, and police say that she replied that she didn't want any. Then the suspect "removed her iPhone which was charging on a chair beside her. The suspect then attempted to flee the location when the female victim grabbed him, preventing him from fleeing. The suspect then broke free from the female victim's grasp and ran towards another exit when the 6 year old victim stepped in his path."
Then, the suspect apparently punched the boy in the face, knocking him into the ground and fled to the parking lot. But the boy's mother caught up to him and got her iPhone back "while wrestling with the suspect before the suspect was able to break free again and flee the location." Here's video from the laundromat:
The woman sustained minor injuries and her son suffered swelling to his face and lacerations to the back of his head; both were treated at the hospital.
Police describe the suspect as approximately 50-55 years old with a thin build.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime
Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577
