A 17-year-old girl was sitting on her motorized scooter at the southeast corner of Union Turnpike and 135th Street last Monday afternoon when four people surrounded her, forced her off the vehicle, and fled with her scooter, her helmet and $300 in cash, according to the NYPD. The incident, reported at roughly 3:45 p.m. on September 21 within the confines of the 107th Precinct, is now the subject of an active NYPD Crime Stoppers appeal for information.
The NYPD’s public account, posted by NYPD Crime Stoppers, says:
One of the four unidentified individuals grabbed the teen and forced her off the scooter, while two others allegedly demanded her property and displayed cutting instruments. The NYPD account says the group removed her keys and fled with the scooter, helmet and $300.
What NYPD Says Happened at Union Turnpike and 135th Street
The account laid out by investigators describes a coordinated approach: the four individuals converged on the teen while she was seated on her scooter, with one directly grabbing her before the others moved in. Cutting instruments were displayed as the group demanded her belongings, per the post, before all four made off with the scooter, helmet and cash together.
The appeal includes no suspect descriptions or photographs. NYPD Crime Stoppers has not provided an update on injuries, an arrest or recovery of the stolen property.
Robbery Trends and Related Queens Reports
NYPD CompStat reported 100 robberies in the 107th Precinct year to date through the week of Sept. 20, 2026, compared with 76 at the same point in 2025, a 31.6% increase. These precinct-wide totals do not show a scooter-specific trend or explain this incident. Separately, the NYC Mayor’s Office said in 2024 that NYPD-identified patterns of street robberies and grand larcenies involving illegal scooters and mopeds had increased since 2022; that broader citywide context does not establish a connection to this case. See NYPD CompStat and the NYC Mayor’s Office. A separate incident reported by QNS involved a 70-year-old man who was surrounded and robbed of his cell phone near 62nd Street and Woodside Avenue in Woodside on Wednesday, Nov. 12. It involved a different victim, location and stolen property, and does not establish a connection to the Briarwood case or document a robbery of a scooter, moped or e-bike rider, according to QNS.
How to Submit a Tip
NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in the case, and tips can be submitted anonymously. The tip line can be reached at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), with a Spanish-language line available at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Tips can also be submitted online through crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or via direct message to the @NYPDTips account on X. Anyone with information about the four individuals involved is urged to come forward through one of those channels.
