Fed-up metropolis bodega homeowners are providing a $5,000 reward for the seize of the brazen bandits dubbed the “Midnight Smashers” who snatched ATMs in 49 daring robberies throughout Large Apple shops.
The United Bodegas of America stated the three-man crew has wreaked havoc throughout dozens of delis — ripping out ATMs and fleeing with tens of hundreds of {dollars} inside a three-month interval, whereas leaving “hardworking homeowners reeling from the monetary and emotional toll.”
“These assaults are not like something we’ve seen earlier than,” stated Fernado Mateo, a spokesperson for the UBA.
“It’s unacceptable that small enterprise homeowners, the spine of our metropolis, are being focused like this. They deserve higher safety, and it’s time for metropolis officers to step up,” he stated.
The trio stole automobiles and used them as getaway autos within the heists throughout higher Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens between Sept. 19 and Dec. 26, in accordance with the NYPD.
As soon as contained in the bodegas, they looted ATMs and different items earlier than fleeing, police stated.
Wild video captured two of them eradicating wires from an ATM and carrying the cash machine out of the American Desi Bazaar and Deli in East Elmhurst on Dec. 2.
Two months earlier, the crew took off with $40,000 in money from ATMs throughout two robberies, in accordance with the NYPD.
Police stated the suspects have but to be caught.
The outraged UBA referred to as for Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the NYPD to “prioritize the protection of bodegas and small companies,” whereas saying extra police presence, heightened safety measures involving panic buttons and assist for armed safety amongst bodega employees will deter future assaults.
“We’re uninterested in being victimized time and again,” Radhames Rodriguez, president of UBA, stated in an announcement.
“Bodegas are lifelines for a lot of communities, and these criminals are tearing aside our livelihoods and threatening our security.”
“Why haven’t these males been caught?” he added.
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