A sales pitch on one of the Bronx's busiest shopping strips turned into a knife-brandishing confrontation earlier this month, according to the NYPD, which is now searching for the man responsible. Police say the incident unfolded just after 1 p.m. on September 3 in front of 12 East Fordham Road, when an unidentified man approached a 22-year-old and offered to sell him unspecified products.
The pitch quickly soured into a verbal dispute, according to NYPD Crime Stoppers
, which posted the appeal for information. During the argument, the unidentified man allegedly displayed a knife before fleeing eastbound on East Fordham Road aboard a scooter. He has not been identified, and the confrontation is being investigated as menacing within the confines of the 46th Precinct.
Under New York Penal Law Section 120.14, intentionally placing or attempting to place a person in reasonable fear of physical injury by displaying a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon — like a knife — constitutes Menacing in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, according to FindLaw. The cited statutory language concerns intentionally placing or attempting to place a person in reasonable fear by displaying a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon.
A Chaotic Corner of a Crowded Corridor
The address sits along the Fordham Road shopping district, a corridor with more than 300 retail stores that sees an average of 80,000 pedestrians pass through daily, per the Bronx Times. To help manage safety concerns along the strip, the BID deployed private patrol ambassadors in 2023, with coverage scheduled for peak afternoon hours between noon and 6 p.m.
The scooter getaway also fits a pattern authorities have been tracking across the West Bronx. A July 2025 NYPD investigation detailed by Norwood News described a multi-precinct robbery pattern in which suspects riding motorized gas scooters brandished knives or handguns to confront pedestrians across 29 separate street confrontations in West Bronx and Manhattan neighborhoods, the outlet reported. NYPD has made two-wheeled getaway vehicles a citywide enforcement priority, seizing more than 5,700 illegal and unregistered mopeds and scooters through mid-May 2026 alone.
Precinct Crime Numbers Trending Upward
The menacing report concerns the 46th Precinct.
Transit crime nearby has also climbed. As Hoodline previously reported on a Fordham subway robbery, CompStat figures showed transit crime complaints in the 46th Precinct rose 30 percent year-to-date through September 6, climbing to 26 reported incidents compared to 20 during the same period a year earlier. The precinct has also historically carried a heavy caseload.
The Fordham Corridor Incident
The September 3 report occurred along the Fordham corridor.
NYPD Crime Stoppers is asking anyone with information on the September 3 incident to come forward. Tips can be submitted by calling 800-577-TIPS, using the online portal at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or reaching out via the Crime Stoppers X account @NYPDTips. Spanish-language tips can be submitted by calling 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case.
