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NYPD investigating recent rash of group ambushes, assaults – Metro US

NYPD investigating recent rash of group ambushes, assaults

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Surveillance cameras captured a group of men beating an Uber Eats delivery man in the Bronx — one of several recent group assaults on unsuspecting New Yorkers.

According to police, the 36-year-old victim was making a delivery when four men pushed him off his bike, punched him and threatened him with a knife before stealing his bike and iPhone. The attack happened on Feb. 26 in Mount Eden near Edward L. Grant Highway.

CBS 2 reported that the attack is part of a trend dating back months: On Mar. 12 in Brooklyn, a group of four suspects beat a man unconscious and took his belongings. On Feb. 27 in the Bronx, a 17-year-old was beaten and stabbed by a group of men. And a group of six teens are suspected of four attacks in the Bronx since last December, in which they approached individuals, assaulted them, then stole belongings like iPhones and wallets.

Although New York City’s overall crime rate is down, the NYPD said it was realigning units to deal with a spike in violent crimes like murder and rape. Police attribute some of that to gang activity and gun violence, CBS 2 reported.

Recent months have also seen several well-publicized unprovoked attacks by individuals on the street and subway.

On Feb. 8, an unsuspecting 73-year-old woman was punched in the face by a stranger aboard the L train at the Livonia Avenue stop in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.

On Mar. 21, a man wearing a Yale jacket sucker-punched a 27-year-old woman, who works for City Council speaker Corey Johnson, on a Crown Heights street.

Last weekend, social media users expressed outrage at newly viral video of a man kicking and punching a 78-year-old woman in the face aboard a Bronx-bound 2 train. Passengers recorded the incident around 3am on March 10. On Sunday, the New York Post reported that police had arrested a suspect, a Bronx dishwasher who was turned in by co-workers who recognized him in the video.