Two young boys were held up by a gunman on Friday night on E. 34th Street between Avenues K and L.

The boys, who were conversing in front of their homes at approximately 1:38AM, were approached by the gun-wielding bandit, who demanded their money. They explained that since it was shabbos, they weren’t carrying anything on them – money or otherwise.

Unconvinced, the suspect grabbed one of the victims by his tie and went through his pockets, which were indeed empty. He then asked the boys who was in the house they were standing in front of, and they intelligently replied that it was full of people, which kept the suspect from trying to enter.

The victims then contacted Flatbush Shomrim, which in turn contacted the NYPD 63rd Precinct, who arrived quickly at the scene. NYPD Inspector Richie Taylor also walked over from his home to assist.

Video footage of the incident has been obtained by Flatbush Shomrim and they are working collaboratively with the NYPD to identify and track down the suspect. Shockingly, a marked Flatbush Shomrim vehicle being driven by an armed off-duty NYPD Officer is seen on security camera footage (see below) driving down the same street exactly 4 minutes before the incident.

Through the intervention of Ohel, Dr. Norman Blumenthal spoke to both boys on motzei shabbos to assist them with any trauma effects they may be going through due to the terrifying incident.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)