Police: Burglar Strikes 2 Units In Bronx Apartment Building, 1 With Baby Inside
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are on the prowl for a burglar who struck the same building twice in the Bronx.
Surveillance video shows the man break into the bedroom of a 2-month old baby asleep in a crib.
It happened around 8 p.m. Friday at an apartment building near Johnson Avenue and West 236th Street in the Riverdale section.
Police said the suspect climbed through a fire escape window that had a broken lock.
Video shows him searching the baby's room, at one point even looking right at the camera. He apparently heard the child's father in another room, got spooked and took off.
About five minutes later, police said the suspect pried open another fire escape window in the same building, climbing into the apartment of a 28-year-old woman.
Once inside, he allegedly stole her backpack, jewelry and bicycle.
Ken Pinczower told CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis his 85-year-old mother lives in the building.
"My mother was petrified. It's a very scary experience," he said.
He said his mom has cameras inside her apartment, but now she's taking it a step further.
"A picture's worth a thousand words, you know, video's worth a million words," he said. "We're going to be installing bars on that window now. My mother has to have peace of mind to be able to sleep in the apartment."
Neighbors were shocked by the surveillance video, too.
"This is unbelievable. I've never heard of such a thing in this neighborhood," said Marc Schumacher.
"I think I would scream," Brenda Ash said.
Building management told DeAngelis there are cameras in the front and back of the building and they may install more in wake of the incident.
"The building needs to take additional measures to deter other people," said Pinczower.
Police said the suspect did not have any contact with the victims, and no one was injured. He was last seen wearing a dark colored knit cap, dark colored coat, gray hooded sweater and backpack.
Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
