MANHATTAN — A group of at least 10 young men have been robbing Upper East Side sports stores by quickly grabbing whatever is closest to the door and then dashing out, police said.
The suspects first struck a JackRabbit running shop on Third Avenue near 62nd Street on June 20 at about 4 p.m. and grabbed more than $2,000 worth of goods, including running pants and shirts, according to the NYPD.
On July 10, they hit Nike Running at Third Avenue and East 66th Street, entering the store holding shopping bags and grabbing $1,200 worth of loot before darting out.
They robbed the same Nike store again just four days later, entering through the front door before quickly grabbing $2,583 in merchandise and fleeing — but not before an employee was able to yank one shopping bag from one of their hands, surveillance video shows.
The suspects have mainly stolen clothing like sweatpants and shirts close to the front door but have not grabbed any sneakers, an NYPD spokesman said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
