A 66-year-old man sitting inside his own car outside his Marine Park home early Tuesday morning was surrounded by six people, pistol-whipped, and robbed of his 2018 Toyota Sienna, according to police. The attack happened just before 4:40 a.m. in front of 1551 East 33rd Street, a residential block between Avenue N and Quentin Road in the Marine Park and Flatlands section of southeastern Brooklyn.
According to NYPD Crime Stoppers, two of the six suspects displayed firearms and struck the victim in the head with one of the guns during the encounter. The group then forcibly removed him from his minivan and fled with the vehicle, leaving him with pain and bruising to the head. He refused medical attention at the scene, per the same post.
The robbery falls within the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 63rd Precinct, which patrols 8.96 square miles across Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Georgetown, and Mill Island from its stationhouse at 1844 Brooklyn Avenue, according to NYC.gov. The suspects fled to parts unknown, and no arrests had been announced as of the Crime Stoppers post.
Stolen Minivan Turns Up Miles Away in Coney Island
The stolen Sienna was later recovered in the 60th Precinct, which covers just 3.4 square miles of southernmost Brooklyn including Coney Island, Brighton Beach, West Brighton Beach, and Sea Gate, NYC.gov notes. That stretch sits several miles south of the Marine Park crime scene, and it remains unclear how the vehicle made its way there or whether investigators have tied the six-person crew to any earlier vehicle robberies in the area.
Under New York Penal Law § 160.15, robbery involving a displayed firearm and physical injury to the victim is classified as Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 5 years and up to 25 years in state prison, according to the Law Offices of Jason Bassett, P.C. That classification underscores the severity of the charges the suspects could face if identified and apprehended.
Part of a Pattern of Armed Carjackings in Marine Park
This is not the first violent, gun-involved robbery targeting drivers in Marine Park this year. In March, a 20-year-old driver was carjacked at gunpoint and beaten by three individuals on Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park, also within the 63rd Precinct, as Hoodline previously reported. In July, a 71-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint while getting into his car in the same neighborhood, with suspects forcibly stealing $780 in cash, a watch, and a wallet.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, a similar attack unfolded in November 2025 when three men assaulted a 37-year-old driver and fled with his Toyota Sienna, according to The Brooklyn Home Reporter. Arrests followed in that case, illustrating how multi-suspect groups have repeatedly targeted the minivan model in late-night attacks across the borough.
Crime Stats Show Assaults Rising as Shootings Fall
NYPD CompStat figures for the 63rd Precinct in late 2025 and 2026 showed a 60 percent decline in shooting incidents alongside a 24 percent increase in felony assaults across the precinct, a trend Hoodline detailed in its recent coverage of a Flatlands attack. The Tuesday morning robbery, with its blunt-force pistol strike to the victim's head, fits within that broader shift toward physical violence even as gunfire itself has become less frequent.
Anyone with information is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), the Spanish-language hotline at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), by downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or by visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org. The program, run in partnership with the nonprofit New York City Police Foundation since 1983, offers rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips leading to an arrest and indictment. Since its founding, Crime Stoppers tipsters have helped solve more than 5,600 violent crime cases citywide, including nearly 1,600 homicides and over 2,400 robberies.
