Man Robs 2 Women In Central Park Within 15 Minutes: Police

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Police are searching for a man who attacked two women in the northern portion of Central Park within 15 minutes.

The suspect, an unidentified man, approached a 38-year-old woman from behind near the Great Hill in Central Park around noon on Friday, an NYPD spokesman told Patch. The man then grabbed the woman by the neck and shoved her to the ground before demanding her money and phone, police said. The woman, who suffers from a hearing impairment, told the robber that she was deaf and the robber then fled the crime scene, an NYPD spokesman said.

Fifteen minutes later the same man punched an 80-year-old woman in the head near West 106th Street and West Drive, police said. The man grabbed the woman's iPhone and then fled the scene, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

Both victims suffered only minor injuries and did not need to be treated at a hospital, police told Patch. No arrests have been made and the investigation into the robberies is ongoing, police said.

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s standing 5-foot-8 and wearing all black, an NYPD spokesman said.

The two robberies are not considered connected to a Jan. 19 robbery and attempted sexual assault that occurred in the same part of the park, but police will "take a look" at any developing robbery patterns, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

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