May 6, 2024 By Bill Parry
Police from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights are looking for two young men who slashed a supermarket employee last week.
The perpetrators entered the Food Town located at 76-10 37th Ave. in Jackson Heights at around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1 and walked through the aisles, allegedly stealing a knife and various food items until they were challenged by a 38-year-old worker who attempted to recover the stolen items and prevent the violent shoplifters from leaving the store.
One of the suspects pulled out the stolen knife and a scuffle ensued, with the Food Town employee getting slashed, causing a laceration to his right hand. The assailants ran out of the store and were last seen running eastbound on 37th Avenue. EMS responded to the crime scene and treated the victim’s wound.
The NYPD released surveillance photos of the robbery suspects on Friday. One was wearing a gray sweatshirt over a dark T-shirt, a white baseball cap on backward and a black backpack. The other suspect wore a distinctive baseball cap with a multi-colored Burberry pattern and black brim, ripped blue jeans and white sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Apr. 28, the 115th Precinct has reported 115 robberies so far in 2024, 36 more than the 79 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 45.6%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Assaults are also on the rise in the 115th Precinct, with 170 reported so far this year, 16 more than the 154 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 10.4%, according to CompStat.