Police say they are searching for a gang of subway thieves who have struck at least three times since August—including twice at one of the busiest subway stations in Manhattan. Four of the five suspects are male, but the female suspect has the words "Hated" and "Loved" tattooed on her arm. Must be a fan of Charles Laughton?
In the latest incident, the five young suspects acted like they were carrying knives, threatening to cut three straphangers on a platform of the Broadway/Lafayette St. station at 7:10 p.m. on October 1st—they ended up stealing "an unknown amount of property" before fleeing.
The previous incident occurred around 7:10 p.m. on September 24th, when four of the suspects stole belonging from three people walking into the Broadway/Lafayette Street station—one of the robbers flashed a gun. In the first incident, the same four suspects flashed box cutters and stole property from four victims on a staircase inside the Broadway/East Houston Street station at 5:05 p.m. on August 15th, police said.
According to NYPD crime statistics, crime in the subways is up 16.6 percent since the same period last year. But roving gangs of teenagers are a constant nuisance for the NYPD across the city, whether they're skateboarding in Columbus Circle, throwing bricks onto Navy Street, hurling snowballs in Park Slope, or ruining our Wendy's dining experience. For your protection, we recommend breaking out the pepper spray at the first sign of any hoody or Justin Beiber-insignia.
