What to Know
- A woman called an Uber cab early in the morning for a ride from the Lower East Side up to East Harlem.
- She got into a black car, but instead of taking her home, the driver threatened to shoot her and stole her belongings.
- The woman was able to jump out of the cab while it was stopped at a red light in upper Manhattan.
A woman jumped out of a fake taxi cab after a thief behind the wheel threatened to shoot her and then stole her belongings, police say.
The woman ordered an Uber cab to come pick her up on the Lower East Side earlier this month. A black, four-door sedan pulled up to her at 1:30 a.m. near Mangin and East Houston streets. The driver said he was there to pick her up and she got in for a ride up to the Upper East Side.
As she was riding in the car on the FDR Drive, the woman realized that the driver was not headed towards her residence. Her suspicions were confirmed when he drove past the 96th Street exit on the Upper East Side.
Moments later, he demanded the woman’s money and threatened to shoot and sexually assault her, police said. He exited the FDR in Harlem.
The woman handed over her iPhone, wallet, debit card, MetroCard, jacket, a pair of gold earrings and $20 in cash.
She rode awhile longer before dashing out of the vehicle when it was stopped at a red light on Park Avenue.
Local
The woman was not injured. The man took off in the black car with her belongings.
Police said the suspect is a man in his 30s.
The NYPD asks anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
