10-year-old boy, younger sister robbed by man in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police are searching for the mugger who stole eight dollars in cash from a 10-year-old boy walking with his younger sister in Brooklyn.
The robbery goes straight to the heart because of the tender ages of the victims. They are only 10 and 7 years old.
Video captured the crime that happened in broad daylight on Friday in Crown Heights.
The 10-year-old boy, Alex, and his 7-year-old sister are seen innocently walking down the 1400 block of Sterling Place around 11 a.m.
They were coming back from the corner store when police say a man approached the siblings from behind and snatched what few dollars the young boy had in hand: $8 to be exact, then took off.
"He grabbed my wrist. He used his other hand to grab the money," Alex said. "The way he grabbed me, I knew I couldn't escape."
Even in that frightening moment, the brave 5th grader knew exactly what to do.
"I said, 'I'm going to call the police,' he got scared a little. Once he took the money, he ran off into Utica," Alex said.
Alex says the police finally came an hour later, which made him late for his orchestra competition. He and his father canvassed the neighborhood and were able to snap a photo but says the man ran off again.
The defenseless children were not physically harmed but the robbery surely left a scar.
Alex said he's afraid that the suspect might pop up at any moment and try to steal his money again.
"It's so sad to hear that. It can't be nobody in normal mind to rob two little children," resident Jamie Vesprey said. "There's a lot of drugs in the area which lead to mental issues as well. One leads to the next. Never-ending issue."
Haunted by the crime, the young victim told Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang that he's been asked to look at more mug shots as police continue to search for the cowardly robber.
The man was seen holding onto a pair of shoes.
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