Three Teens Rob Woman in Latest Incident During Central Park Crime Surge

Three teenagers are being sought in connection with an August 11 robbery that occurred in Central Park, the NYPD said on August 28, when they released surveillance footage of the minors.

The suspects, believed to be aged between 14 and 17, reportedly stole a 27-year-old woman’s phone and purse in the vicinity of W. 65th St at around 11:45 p.m. They bruised the woman’s arm in the process, cops said, and later used her credit card. The woman was not hospitalized.

All three teens are reportedly boys with slim builds, police said. One was wearing a white tank top, gray sweatpants, red and white sneakers, and a black cross-body bag. Another was wearing a multi-colored hat, a white T-shirt, black shorts, white sneakers, and a similar black cross-body bag. The third had on a black baseball hat, a black T-shirt, and white shorts.

The incident is only the latest is a series of robberies that have occurred in the park this summer. Overall robberies have surged in the Central Park Precinct by 161 percent compared to 2023, for a total of 34 reported incidents compared to just 13 last year, police stats show. Many of these, similar to the August 11 incident, reportedly involve phone snatching.

In an April incident, a woman was reportedly groped in the park before her phone was snatched, cops said. In late May, an 83 year-old who was snapping photos on the park’s West Dr.–with his phone–reportedly had it swiped. In July, a teen sitting on a bench near W. 59th St. told cops that he had his phone stolen from him, plus $80.

In a more recent Central Park robbery, a man sitting on a bench near Wollman Rink on August 1 was reportedly surrounded by 15 to 20 teenagers, who threatened him with a knife and snatched his wallet.

Indeed, major crime categories in the precinct have increased by 41.38 percent relative to 2023, for a total of 82 incidents relative to 53 last year. While robberies have seen the largest uptick by far, felony assaults have also modestly increased, with 11 incidents compared to just 7 last year.

On August 13, Mayor Eric Adams that police would introduce drone technology to the park, which he claimed would reduce the surge in reported incidents. He also suggested that there were unspecified new tactics that Central Park units would roll out, but that he couldn’t tell the media because it would supposedly “tip” off suspects.

The NYPD also announced that they’d be adding more cameras to the park’s northern region earlier this summer, after a man attempted to rape a woman sunbathing near the Great Hill on June 24. Police say that Jermaine Longmire, 43, allegedly jumped on a 21 year-old woman from behind; she fought him off and screamed for help, at which point he ran away. A massive manhunt ensued, at one point involving police helicopters, which the victim reportedly aided in.

Longmire, a resident of the Upper West Side, was taken into custody on July 3. He reportedly had a history of sexual violence against women, and was connected with multiple incidents.