CROWN HEIGHTS — Two 10-year-old boys were arrested in Crown Heights this week for trying to steal a 67-year-old woman’s purse — with a 4-year-old in tow.
The pair approached the woman at the corner of Rogers Avenue and Empire Boulevard at 2 p.m. on Monday as she walked down the street.
The boys tried to grab the woman’s purse, then punched her in the face when they couldn’t take it from her. A third boy, who was 4 years old, was with the 10-year-olds during the robbery attempt, sources said, but did not join in.
The group fled empty-handed shortly after the would-be mugging and were arrested shortly afterwards by officers who canvassed the neighborhood with the woman.
The two boys — one from Bushwick and the other from nearby in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens — will be charged with robbery, police said.
Robberies are up slightly in the area since last year, according the most recently available NYPD data. In the 71st Precinct, there have been 188 robberies through August 2, up 9 percent from the 172 robberies in the same period in 2014.
Take a look at the below map for major crime trends in the neighborhood, based on police department crime data:
