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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

VIDEO: Man Robs T-Mobile Store At Gunpoint, Steals Dozens of iPhones

Man Robs T-mobile Store At Gunpoint
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DCPI

ASTORIA — A cellphone store manager tried to unsuccessfully talk an armed gunman out of his store during a daylight robbery last week. 

“At first, I was trying to trick him," said Ahsanul Islam, the manager of the T-Mobile store located at 31-05 36 Ave.

"I told him 'We don’t have any phones in stock, our shop is very small,’ you know some people are dumb they’ll believe whatever you say, but he had done his homework,” Islam, 23, said.

The manager had just come back from his lunch break about 4 p.m. when the thief walked into the store on April 17 with the hood of his sweatshirt up and carrying a large black duffel bag on April 17, police said.

“He threw the bag at me and told me 'Give me your phones,'” said Islam, who can be seen behind the counter in surveillance video released by the NYPD. 

Islam said he tried to fast-talk him but that strategy quickly went south as the robber got angry and threatened his life.

“He said ‘Don’t piss me off, open the (storage) door or I’ll shoot you, I’m not kidding, I will shoot you,'” Islam recalled.

The thief also asked Islam's co-worker to kneel down, turn his back and put his hands behind his head, according to Islam. The clerk can be seen in the video complying.

“That's when I realized we might get hurt," he said, "Of course I was scared, scared for my life and for my co-worker’s life.”

Islam eventually opened the storage room door and then filled the robber's bag with 47 smartphones, including dozens of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models, as well as several Samsung smartphones, he said.

“He asked specifically for iPhones,” Islam said, adding that the thief made off with 40 percent of the inventory, which was worth approximately $30,000.

The robber then got a phone call while Islam was filling in his bag, the store manager said.

He did not pick up but walked out of the storage room and asked for cash from the register before fleeing the scene in a black Audi, the manager and police said.

Police said the man also took approximately $200 from the cash register. 

Islam said there were no clients in the store when the robbery happened and police said no injuries were reported regarding this incident.

The NYPD said the suspect has dark hair and is approximately 35 years old and 6 feet tall. He weights about 275 pounds and was last seen wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt, black sneakers and blue jeans.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are kept strictly confidential.