Bronx father tells how he and 4-year-old son were robbed
A Bronx father has told the story of how a supposed happy day out to Yankee Stadium ended in terror for himself and his 4-year-old boy.
Police said on Wednesday that the terror began when a mugger followed them home and pointed a pistol in their faces in a caught-on-video holdup.
The 40-year-old victim and his young son were heading back from the ballgame at about 9 p.m. Monday when the crook tracked them to their apartment building near Sheridan Ave. and 161st St. in the Bronx, cops said.
“He was very impressed with Yankee Stadium; he’s never been there,” the distressed father said.
“He was very happy, and unfortunately this thing happened and killed all the magic.”
Surveillance video from inside the building shows the father and son, both sporting baseball caps, stepping into their Concourse Village apartment house.
The child was playing with a souvenir Yankees bat he got at the Bronx Bombers’ 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The mugger, wearing a hooded black winter coat, slowly followed the father and son into the lobby, where he raised his jacket and pulled a small handgun from his waistband.
The dad said the robber initially tried to trick his way into the building, knocking on the door as he and his son entered the lobby. At first, the father refused to let him in, but when the crook started pushing buttons on the intercom, the victim had second thoughts.
Cops said the video shows the father stepping between the hooded thief and his son, as the suspect waves around the pistol, demanding his belongings.
At first, the dad called out for a neighbor, but when the assailant told the child, “Hey, you better go away,” the father decided to hand over about $30, to keep his son out of danger.
Neither father nor son were injured, and the robber ran off.
The experience has left the dad, who works an early morning shift at a deli, shaken and more cautious than ever.
Police have asked cooperation in identifying the suspect from the surveillance video.
