A 30-year-old man was shot in the leg and had his chain torn from his neck by four attackers outside 103 Vermilyea Avenue in Inwood in the predawn hours of Aug. 26, and more than three weeks later, investigators still have not identified anyone responsible. The group fled in a vehicle heading west toward Broadway, leaving police searching for suspects in a case that remains unsolved as tips continue to come in.
Chain Ripped Off, Then a Gunshot
According to NYPD Crime Stoppers
, the victim was approached by four unidentified individuals at approximately 2:04 a.m. in front of the Vermilyea Avenue address, within the confines of the 34th Precinct. One of the four grabbed and forcefully removed a chain from the victim's neck, while another opened fire, striking him in the right leg, the agency said. All four then fled in a vehicle westbound toward Broadway, according to the same post.
NYPD Crime Stoppers is now asking the public for information about the robbery and shooting. The agency is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for an anonymous tip that leads to an arrest and indictment. Anyone with information can call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), the Spanish-language line at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or submit a tip through the Crime Stoppers website or on X at @nypdtips.
Part of a Rougher Stretch for Inwood
The Aug. 26 shooting comes amid what local data has shown to be an especially violent stretch in the neighborhood. As reported by abc7ny.com, the 34th Precinct recorded 24 robberies in a recent 28-day stretch in June, more than double the 11 reported over the same period a year earlier. The outlet also reported nine shootings in Inwood during that window, compared with four during the same period the previous year.
That same report detailed a strikingly similar attack on June 11, when four individuals approached 23-year-old Luis Almonte near 565 West 207th Street and grabbed him while trying to remove his jewelry. When Almonte resisted, one of the attackers fired, striking him in the torso, buttocks and leg, per the outlet's account. The group made off with his watch and fled in a white Mercedes-Benz driven by a fifth person, and EMS later transported Almonte to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.
Prior Case Shows How Charges Can Stack Up
Neighborhood robbery patterns involving chains, watches and gunfire are not new to Inwood and Washington Heights. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced indictments last September against six defendants accused of conspiring to commit four gunpoint robberies across the two neighborhoods within a 24-hour span, allegedly involving 10 victims and four guns. In one of those robberies, near West 207th Street and Post Avenue on Sept. 26, 2025, a defendant identified in the indictment as Perez allegedly shot one of the victims in the foot as that victim tried to recover a stolen bag.
Prosecutors' 23-count indictment in that case included multiple counts of first-degree robbery, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree assault, according to the District Attorney's Office. A separate Inwood robbery reported by amNY described a 28-year-old man shot in the right leg near Ninth Avenue and West 207th Street, with a motorcycle-riding suspect ripping a gold chain off his neck. None of these prior cases has been tied to the Aug. 26 attack on Vermilyea Avenue.
For now, the four people involved in the Aug. 26 shooting remain unidentified, and NYPD Crime Stoppers is relying on the public to help move the case forward. Anyone with information is urged to contact the hotline, submit a tip online, or reach out on X.
