Neighbor Attacked & Robbed On E 10th Street & A Local Safety Meeting Tomorrow Night

A neighbor had a scary experience last night before 9pm on E 10th Street between Church and Caton, when a group of three men attacked her and stole her iPhone. She writes:

One man approached me from behind by wrapping his arm around my neck in a choke hold. After a minute of struggling, he took me to the ground and kept squeezing on my neck while the other two guys stood by. They said nothing…he just continued to choke me well after the phone had been tossed out of my hands. I am surprised I did not pass out for as long as he was cutting off my air supply.

She says she became afraid that the men weren’t only after her belongings, and told them to just take her phone.

After a minute or so, they grabbed the phone, let me go and ran down the street. I can’t remember any facial descriptions. I only remember they were 3 young African American men (maybe late teens to early 20’s). The two not touching me were thinner and the guy who had me was much larger, very muscular.

Two police officers responded within five minutes of the 911 call that was placed, she says, and there were patrol cars canvassing the neighborhood quickly. Though later on she says she was able to track her iPhone notifications to an address nearby before the phone went offline permanently, the phone was not recovered.

As much as she appreciated the prompt response from the precinct, she clarifies:

Though I declined a trip to the hospital, I am very much harmed. Despite the emotional and mental damage, I have a very sore and strained neck, some scrapes, and a swollen tongue with cuts where I was choked while biting down on it. No, I didn’t need to see a doctor, but yes, I was hurt. They brought in two men who I think were supposed to be paramedics but they knew no medical terminology and seemed to have difficulty fumbling around with taking my blood pressure. It was not helpful and I felt better just wanting to get home.

She adds that she was disappointed by the “casualness and lax approach the detectives took to resolving this.”

We’re told one of the men involved was wearing a white shirt, and neighbors confirmed they’d seen a group that matched the description on the corner of Church and E 10th earlier in the evening. Neighbors say that police spoke to some people in the area who have security cameras last night to see if they had footage of the men on the street.

We’re glad she’s going to be okay, though she is understandably shaken up.

If you noticed any activity that might have been related to her attack, please call the precinct at 718-851-5511 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting your tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. The NYPD says all calls are confidential.

There will be a meeting for neighbors at the HIP Health Center (1000 Church Ave. between E 10th and E 11th Sts.) at 6:30pm on Friday, June 14 in response to this incident and other recent events. Topics will include safety and lighting on local blocks, flooding issues, and more. All residents and local representatives are welcome to attend and voice their ideas on how to make the area a safer and all-around better place.

Are any other blocks or neighborhoods considering how to take action after a seeming spike of crime, including gunshots fired and home-break ins, in Ditmas Park lately? Are you planning meetings like the one mentioned above, setting up block patrols, or adding lights or security systems to your home? Let us know, and please, please make room in your schedule for the next 70th Precinct Community Council meeting at UCP (175 Lawrence Ave. between Ocean Pkwy and E 2nd St.) at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 26.