Watch CBS News

Search Continues For Robbery Suspect Targeting Elderly Residents In Brooklyn, Queens

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The search continues for a suspect who police said is targeting elderly residents in a violent robbery pattern, striking at least five times since January in Brooklyn and Queens.

The most recent incident happened Saturday afternoon. Police said the suspect followed 83-year-old Erin Van Schendel into her building on Ocean Parkway and Beverly Road in Brooklyn, hit her in the face with a blunt object and ran.

Left with a broken nose and bruised, Van Schendel described the scary moments she was attacked.

"My idea was to get away," she told CBS2's Magdalena Doris. "I guess I just got socked. I don't remember very much."

Police said the suspect followed Van Schendel inside the lobby. As she took the elevator, groceries in hand, he took the stairs and knocked on her apartment door minutes later.

Van Schendel's son lives next door and got a call from police Saturday explaining the incident.

"When she opened the door, he slammed her down, knocked her in the face and broke her nose," Marc Van Schendel said.

The suspect was seen on the building's surveillance cameras. After seeing video, Marc Van Schendel said he's grateful that it wasn't worse.

"If he's that big and that strong, he could've killed her," he said.

Police said what happened to Erin Van Schendel follows the suspect's pattern of preying mostly on elderly women who are entering their homes, striking in the middle of the day.

"He should be off the streets," Erin Van Schendel said.

In all five attacks, police said he shows a gun or a knife and robs his victims and anyone else who might be around. He's also suspected of robbing two middle-aged men.

In January, investigators believe he robbed a 76-year-old woman and an 87-year-old man at knifepoint in Queens.

Then on Feb. 11, police said he followed a 71-year-old woman into her home in the area of Prospect Place and 6th Avenue in Brooklyn, tied her up, pulled out a gun and hit her in the face. He then stole $375 and fled, police said.

The next attack happened on March 2 when police said he robbed $370 from 91-year-old Elizabeth Gioino at gunpoint. She spoke to CBS2 after the incident.

"I said, 'Please leave me alone, I'm a sick woman, I'm old enough. Leave me alone,'" she said. "He choked me three times, 'Give me the money, give me the money.'"

Then on March 19, a 43-year-old man entering his home was held up. Police said the suspect then approached an 83-year-old woman at gunpoint, showing a box cutter and making away with over $300.

In a news conference earlier this month, police in Brooklyn announced a heightened effort to catch him.

"I have every officer in the 78 and Brooklyn looking for him," 78th police precinct Capt. Frank DiGiacomo said.

Police and the Brooklyn borough president are offering a combined $3,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

"Lead him to a jail cell and put him in here," said Erin Van Schendel. "He should be off the streets."

The suspect is described as a black man between the ages of 40 and 60, 5 foot 10 inches tall weighing 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black jacket.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.