Police: Man Shot During Attempted Robbery In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man was shot on Monday night in Queens in what police are calling an attempted robbery gone wrong.
As CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Tuesday, the suspects are still on the loose.
A frantic video was taken just seconds after shots and screams rang out in the normally quiet Forest Hills neighborhood. Gary Waldinger and Susan Mentel were watching TV right upstairs.
"We heard a pop and a scream and we ran to the window and we looked outside and my wife called out, 'Do you need help? What's going on?' And that's where a woman, my neighbor, said, 'Please call 911. My husband has been shot.' And right away I called 911," Waldinger said.
"I just heard two shots, and then a woman screaming for help," neighbor Maria Johnson added.
Moments later, neighbors flooded the streets to do what they could and police arrived.
The 51-year-old victim was sitting in an Audi Q7 parked outside his apartment on 72nd Road at 113th Street at around 9:30 p.m. He was about to unload the car after traveling for the holidays. His wife had taken one child inside, but a 2-year-old was still in the back seat when two men yanked open the front doors and demanded the man's phone and money.
When he resisted, he was pistol whipped and shot in the chest and the arm, police said.
The child was not hurt.
Neighbors said they were rattled by the violent encounter.
"We're all sitting home, the family is in bed getting ready for the next day, and then, boom, and your whole life can change. I just hope he's okay," Mentel added.
"They have two kids, and it's like ... they were there. And I can't even imagine how they're processing it. They're all in shock," Waldinger added.
Videos from the scene show the victim being placed on a stretcher, before he was taken to the hospital in serious condition. He has since been released.
The robbers got away empty handed and fled in a dark sedan, police said, adding they are still reviewing surveillance camera footage in the area to try and identify the suspects.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
CBS2's Nick Caloway contributed to this report.
