A brazen crew of teen robbers has been targeting Manhattan drivers in a string of thefts, with at least one victim sprayed with an unknown substance as thieves make off with wallets, debit cards and other valuables, police said Wednesday.
The robbers first struck on Jan. 21, when two of them approached a 30-year-old man sitting in his car in East Harlem around 10:30 p.m., cops said.
Without warning, they sprayed an unknown substance in his face and then stole $1,500 in cash and his debit card. The robbers took off. Medics treated the man on scene for minor injuries.
A few weeks later, on Feb, 9, another pair of robbers struck in the same neighborhood. This time, a 64-year-old man was targeted around 12:45 a.m. as he sat in his car. The thieves snatched his wallet containing a credit card before fleeing the scene.
The crime spree continued with more robberies in the following weeks.
On Feb.13, cops said, a 31-year-old man was targeted on the Upper East Side around 3:15 p.m. when one of the suspects attempted to grab his wallet from the center console of his car, but the man fought back and the thief fled without making off with the billfold.
Then, on Feb. 17, two suspects targeted a 36-year-old man parked near the corner of E. 118th St. and Fifth Ave. in East Harlem around 4 a.m. They reached into the center console of his car and stole his wallet containing a debit card and credit card before taking off.
The crew laid low until Feb. 21, police said, when they attacked a man on Sixth Ave. in Midtown Manhattan, pushing the 48-year-old victim before forcibly removing his wallet, containing a credit card, from the middle console of his car.
The suspects fled and used the stolen card to take themselves shopping at a Forever 21 on Seventh Ave. near W. 46th St., cops said.
On Feb. 28, near the corner of W. 45th St. and Ninth Ave., three men in the crew snatched a 67-year-old man’s cell phone out of his hand. A little more than an hour later, four suspects struck again, stealing a 23-year-old man’s wallet and $100 from his car in the same neighborhood, before swiping one of his cards at a Target on Tenth Ave. near W. 44th St., according to police.
No one was seriously injured in any of the robberies.
Police are searching for four teens — three female and one male — who they believe are responsible for the string of robberies.
Cops on Wednesday released photos of the robbers in the hopes someone may be able to recognize them. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.