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Police are on the hunt for two people who attempted a robbery at a Family Dollar store in the Bronx. A video of the incident, where the accused can be seen putting a store employee in a chokehold, recently went viral.
Reportedly, the woman tried to confront the duo, following which they attacked her. Speaking to The Post, she said:
"I was physically assaulted in front of people, and I had to defend myself in front of kids. I was scared to come back to work because they might know me."
The victim, 23, from Westchester County, has requested authorities to keep her identity anonymous. She stated that she fears for her life as they could hurt her given that the accused now know where she works. As per authorities, the attack left her with minor injuries.
Trigger Warning: This article contains information about graphic violence.
She further expressed her disappointment at the poor response from the cops. According to the victim, she called the authorities at least nine times that day to report a slew of crimes.
Bronx Family Dollar store a hotbed for assaults and shoplifting
On August 14 around 3.30 p.m., an employee of the Family Dollar Store was assaulted by shoplifters. The Bronx store is located on Webster Avenue near East 168th Street in Morrisania.
According to the victim, if she had not intervened, the thieves would have run away with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from the Bronx store. She said:
"They had cleaning stuff, tissues, everything. They had everything from inside the store."
Speaking to the Daily News, the 23-year-old spoke of how she has been a victim of verbal abuse, threats and punches as a store employee in the Bronx. She stated that such incidents take place regularly where thieves make sure to grab as many items as they can.
She maintained that apart from the physical assault, there were three other violent attacks on her that day at the Bronx store.
"We need some more security, and we need the strongest ones because this is getting worse. The area is not good. We have a lot of [homeless] shelters here, and it’s the shelter people come in here [from] and steal stuff."
Further, authorities recounted an incident where a man and a woman stole clothes and other items from the store. One of the accused slashed a clerk who tried to stop the robbery with a box-cutter.
Bronx store assault: Hunt for the suspects underway
Officers have described the female in the video as being around 5 feet 6 in height and weighing 220 pounds with her hair in braids. The last time she was seen, the woman was in a white T-shirt, black pants and Adidas sandals in black.
Her male companion is described as being 5 feet 4 in height with a slim build, bald head and gray facial hair. The man was last seen in a black baseball hat with a blue rim and a black T-shirt printed with an Adidas logo on the front. He also wore black pants and white sneakers.
People are requested to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) with information. If you wish to submit a tip, visit the website or drop a DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
