Police are looking for a masked man linked to three Brownsville robbery incidents reported over four days this month. An image from the first incident shows a person with most of his face covered by a black garment, according to News 12 Brooklyn, which attributed the case details to the NYPD.
Police account of the incidents
The earliest reported incident took place at about 8:40 p.m. Saturday at the gas station at 211 Tapscott Street. Police said the suspect held a 17-year-old boy at gunpoint and demanded money from the register, according to the News 12 account.
At a second location, 1974 Union Street, the suspect approached a 56-year-old man and fired a round through a store window, police said. Nothing was taken from that business. News 12 reported, citing the NYPD, that the suspect obtained $1,000 and a watch during the broader series, but the supplied account does not identify which stop produced those items.
The last reported encounter occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday outside the deli at 779 Saratoga Avenue. Police said the suspect displayed a gun and demanded that a 58-year-old man put cash in a bag, then left without taking anything. The NYPD said no one was injured in the three incidents, according to News 12.
How the incidents fit broader trends
Citywide data point in the opposite direction from the increase in retail-theft complaints reported for the 73rd Precinct. According to the NYPD CompStat Unit, citywide retail-theft complaints were down 13.3% year to date through Sept. 13, 2026, to 32,553 from 37,526 during the comparable period in 2025.
Precinct data
The locations are within the 73rd Precinct, which covers Brownsville and Ocean Hill, according to the NYPD. In a CompStat report covering Sept. 7 through Sept. 13, the precinct recorded 168 robberies year to date, compared with 217 during the same period in 2025, a decrease of 22.6%, according to NYPD statistics.
The same report shows retail-theft complaints up 65% year to date. Petit larceny was also up 23.7%. The NYPD lists those as separate crime categories.
Possible legal exposure and tips
The charges, if any, would depend on an arrest and the evidence. New York Penal Law § 160.15 classifies first-degree robbery as a Class B felony when a person forcibly steals property under circumstances that include being armed with a deadly weapon or displaying what appears to be a firearm, according to the statute reproduced by FindLaw. The provision also addresses an affirmative defense involving an unloaded weapon; it does not establish what charges would be filed in this case.
People with information can call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, according to the NYPD.
