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Video: Straphangers Try To Trap Shirtless iPhone Thief In Turnstile
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 4, 2012
Modified Aug 4, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 4, 2012
Modified Aug 4, 2012
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Every once in a while, straphangers sick of letting thieves and gropers run amok in the subway try to take situations into their own hands—and that's just what happened when two commuters tried to trap a fleeing, shirtless iPhone thief in a turnstile last month. Watch video of the encounter below.
The incident happened just before 6 p.m. on July 22—the victim, a bald man wearing a suit, told cops that the thief pushed and punched him, then stole his iPhone on board a southbound R train. The thief then fled at the Canal Street station; as you can see above, the victim caught up to him, and another commuter joined in to try to entrap him. Unfortunately, the thief was able to squeeze his way out of the jam.
No arrest have been made; cops ask anyone with information to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). It seems it's just that time of year that people get robbed by shirtless men: almost exactly a year ago, a shirtless man robbed two women at a Queens subway stations. So it's probably best to avoid any shirtless dudes on the subway for the next few weeks (or, you know, always).
Tagged
canal street
iphone
manhattan
MTA
straphangers
subway
thief
train
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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