Attempted Mugging On Ditmas Avenue Early Wednesday Morning

A neighbor had a scary run-in on the way to the subway Wednesday morning, and wanted to make sure others walking to Newkirk since the Manhattan-bound Cortelyou track closed are being vigilant. She says:

I was walking towards the Newkirk train station on Ditmas Avenue at about 8:45am. I didn’t feel like anyone was following me; the kid was not walking awkwardly close to me at all. I heard someone behind me say, “Hey, do you know what time it is?”

I turned around and pulled my iPhone out and checked the time. I told him the time and put my phone back in my purse right away. Then just after that, he said a little louder, “Hey… give me your phone.” That caught me off guard and I just said no, and he started coming towards me.

My first and only instinct was to run, so I started running as fast as I could while screaming at the top of my lungs over and over, “Help me, help me.” I maybe ran about a block and a half with him chasing me yelling, “Stop yelling or I’m going to knock you out.”

That just made me run even faster! I cut across the street towards Newkirk and he continued to keep running on Ditmas Avenue. I lost him and was in complete shock and way too scared to go back home.

There was an older woman about a block and half down on Ditmas who saw the whole thing and I heard her say that I had lost him and that I should run towards her. I was not in the mood to trust anyone at that point, so I continued to run towards Newkirk where I knew there would be more people around.

All I remember is that the kid was African-American, maybe about 5’4″, small stature, and looked like a teenager, maybe 16-18 years old. I probably should not have pulled my phone out to check the time given all that has been happening lately, but I wasn’t really on guard that early in the morning and in broad daylight.

She says when she got to Newkirk, a woman very kindly walked her to the train, and she didn’t see the boy again. “Just shows that anything can happen at any time and anywhere,” she says, adding how frustrated she is that she now feels unsafe in her own neighborhood.

iPhone thefts certainly aren’t new to the neighborhood or across the city, but you hope if they have to happen, it’s in a non-violent way. A few months back, a neighbor was attacked on E 10th for her phone, and we wondered if more foot traffic as a result of subway closures in the neighborhood would increase or decrease similar incidents.

We’re glad our neighbor is okay, but her experience is an unfortunate reminder to be hyper-aware of your surroundings even close to home. If you saw any part of the incident on Wednesday, call the 70th Precinct at 718-851-5511.