Cops are hunting four young women wanted for a botched purse snatching that left a 71-year-old woman battered inside a Brooklyn subway station on New Year’s Day.
The elderly victim told police she had just exited through the turnstiles at the Hoyt. St. subway station in Downtown Brooklyn when the thieves launched their attack around 6:07 p.m., police said.
The four females worked together to try to rip off the victim, beating her as they struggled to rip the handbag from her grasp, said police.
But the victim managed to escape the ambush with her property in hand, and the thieves fled the station none the richer.
Medics transported the victim to Brooklyn Hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
Police released surveillance images of four suspects and are asking for the public’s help in tracking them down.
Robberies in the subway system have fallen more than 16% citywide year over year, with 453 robberies in 2024 compared to 541 in 2023, according to NYPD crime stats as of Dec. 29.
Crimes underground overall fell more than 5% last year, but the number of murders doubled in the subway, with 10 killed in 2024 compared to five the year before.
Anyone with information that could lead police to the robbers is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stopper’s Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.