By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — The so-called “geezer thief” who shot up a Midtown suit store last week was killed in a traffic accident, the NYPD said Friday.
The elderly man was involved in the crash last Sunday, July 11, in Clear Springs, MD. Police did not have details on the incident, but said it was the same man who held up Sarar Men's Store on Madison Avenue and 46th Street.
The suspect was described as 6 feet 2 inches, wearing a red shirt, eyeglasses and a dark colored baseball cap during the time of the robbery. He also carried a black bag carrying an oxygen tank and had breathing tubes descending from his nose, police said.
"We think it was a decoy," a clerk said about the tank. "Who would think someone with breathing tubes would rob the store?"
The man appeared to be shopping for clothes during the attempted robbery last Friday, but soon pulled out a silver revolver and demanded cash from the store manager, according a store employee.
He fired three rounds at the manager, missing him each time, Police said.
However, one bullet went through seven suits, sized 42 wide, a Sarar clerk said.