A quiet stretch of University Avenue turned briefly chaotic just before sunrise when an attempted robbery involving a gun and a struggle with a 60-year-old man unfolded in front of 1981 University Avenue in the Bronx, police say.
The confrontation happened around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, May 11, when two suspects allegedly grabbed and pushed the man and tried to rip a necklace from his neck. According to investigators, the pair then took off eastbound on University Avenue in a Hyundai Elantra.
According to an NYPD Crime Stoppers Facebook post, the two unidentified suspects approached the victim and displayed a firearm, and one of them fired a shot during the struggle. The post includes surveillance stills of the people of interest and urges anyone who recognizes them, or who may have captured video of the incident or getaway car, to come forward. As of that post, police had not announced any arrests and were asking the public to preserve any footage that could help identify the pair.
How to help detectives
Anyone with information or video is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-577-TIPS or the Spanish-language line at 1-888-57-PISTA, or to submit an anonymous tip through the Crime Stoppers portal. Eligible tips may qualify for a cash reward, according to reporting by CBS New York. Authorities are also asking residents to hang on to any relevant phone or doorbell footage and to avoid confronting anyone they suspect.
Where this fits in the neighborhood
Crime maps and neighborhood bulletins show multiple robberies reported in the University Heights area in recent days, including a robbery recorded on the 1900 block of University Avenue on May 11, according to SpotCrime. Local outlets have repeatedly run Crime Stoppers alerts this month, underscoring detectives’ calls for neighbors to check their cameras and save any footage that might help; see recent reporting for similar wanted notices.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers, submit a tip online, or message the NYPD Crime Stoppers account on X, @NYPDTips. Tips can be submitted anonymously and will be reviewed by investigators, who say they will follow up on credible leads.
