A 74-year-old Chinese electronics store owner surnamed Guan and his 72-year-old wife were robbed at gunpoint in Manhattan's SoHo district. Two men disguised as Fedex delivery men threatened the owner and his wife at gunpoint, threatened the owner and his wife at gunpoint, and failed to open the store safely. The New York City Police Department released an image of the suspect on Monday, appealing for information to help police solve the case.
Police said that at about 7:30 a.m. on April 21, two unknown men at gunpoint threatened the 74-year-old male owner of an electronics store near Mercer Street at Kennedy Road, pushed him inside, hit him in the head with a gun and threatened him to open the safe, but failed. At this time, the owner's 72-year-old wife entered the store and the two robbers shot him in the head. A man took about $1,500 in cash from the victim's bag. The victim's screams attracted two street sweeping workers, who scared the robber away with a broom and winnowing pan. The owner had bruises on his head and hands, and his wife had bruises on her knees. According to surveillance at the scene, one of the robbers was wearing a Fedex delivery uniform, and the other had a black scarf over his face.
The store owner, who gave only his surname, said he believed the robbers had planned for a long time, knew their work hours, his son's arrival time and where the safe was kept, entered the store with a gun and did not take any electronics, but went straight to the safe in the back of the store. The robbers even knew about the second floor and their grandson, who they threatened would be hurt if they didn't do what they were told.
The owner's wife said she was scared when the robber pushed her to the ground and threatened her with a gun. She screamed and was threatened with "stop or I will kill you."
Jeffrey Kwan, the owner's son, said he was worried about his parents' safety and how much the robbers knew about the children. The parents are in good health and recovering, but this is a traumatic event for them. The parents have been here for nearly 50 years and have never seen anything like this. He feels the city is lawless now, and his family is afraid of bail reform laws. Even if the robbers are caught, they may be released and strike again.
The overall modus operandi of this robbery is very similar to that of the armed robbery of the jewelry store in downtown Flushing. Both of them are premeditated and committed by multiple people in coordination. Targeting the Chinese stores, they disguised themselves as couriers by wearing the uniform of a Courier company, and opened the safe and robbed them while only elderly people were at gunpoint.
