What manners!
A gunman tried to steal a man’s phone in Central Park on Saturday – only for the man to then give it back and apologize because it was not the phone he was looking for, the victim told the Washington Post.
According to police sources, police were deployed in full force following the incident, which occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m. at the corner of East 106th Street and East Drive.
The victim said he stopped at the lake to have a smoke when the bandit, armed with a 9mm Glock, approached him from behind and said, “Hey, hey, give me the phone!”
The victim handed over his device, but it was not good enough for the potential scammer.
“That wasn’t the phone I was looking for,” the thief reportedly said before returning it to the stunned victim and apologizing.
The suspect then ran out of the park at the corner of 106th Street and Fifth Avenue, the victim said.
NYPD Aviation was among the officers on scene. The perpetrator is believed to be around 26 years old and was wearing dark pants and a black hoodie when he last appeared at the crime scene.
The latest incident comes at a time when robberies and assaults in Central Park are skyrocketing, leaving tourists and longtime New Yorkers on edge at the disturbing mix of violent teenagers, crazed vagrants and lawless migrants roaming the troubled green space.
According to NYPD data, there was a 222% increase in the number of robberies in 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.
According to the data, the 29 incidents this year – as of last week – already exceeded the total number of incidents reported in 2019.
