ELMHURST — A pair of gun-wielding teens robbed an electronic shop and beat the owner and his wife, but were caught with the help of a passerby as they tried to flee on the subway, police said.
Alex Diaz, 15, of Prospect Heights, and Ronald Espinoza, 14, of Jackson Heights, were charged with robbery, assault and weapons possession, police said.
Investigators said they were armed with three air pistols, a gravity knife and had stolen $468.
Diaz and Espinoza entered JC Electronics on Grand Avenue, near Haspel Street, at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6 and announced they were robbing the store, police said.
Diaz went behind the counter and fought with the store’s 38-year-old owner, hitting him in the head with his gun and trying to cut him with a knife, according to the NYPD.
The shop owner’s wife was also assaulted when she stepped in to help, police said.
Diaz and Espinoza snatched cash from the register and cellphones that were being fixed in the back of the store, but the shop owner’s daughter — who hid in the basement during the robbery — called 911, the NYPD said.
The suspects fled toward the M and R train station at Queens Boulevard as the owner followed them.
A man walking by who saw them running directed police officers to the subway station, where both teens were arrested.
Diaz and Espinosa were charged with robbery, assault and weapons possession, and the officers recovered the stolen property, according to the NYPD.
The victims were treated at Elmhurst Hospital for cuts on their faces and heads, and were released.
