Nassau County police are putting students on alert after four teens had their electronics stolen in a robbery spree that spanned only 50 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, and a fifth teen was robbed Thursday.
Muggers in Uniondale targeted students walking home from school and made off with Apple products in four of the five robberies, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
In the first robbery at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, a group of five to seven teenagers approached a female student walking out of Kellenberg High School to her car, police said. They ripped the iPhone out of her hand and ran away.
Thirty minutes later, two students ages 16 and 17, who are also students at Kellenberg, were accosted by a man on Pembroke Street and Arcadia Avenue, police said. The man grabbed the 17-year-old by the arm and took his cell phone and iPod, police said. The man was joined by four other suspects who were watching from the corner and they all ran off, police said.
In the next incident, a 12-year-old girl was walking across the Kellenberg lacrosse field when a mugger grabbed her arm and took her iPhone, police said. The suspect then fled.
At 3:50 p.m., a 13-year-old was walking near Emerson Street and Hempstead Boulevard when he was approached by two teens, one who asked him the time while the other attempted to grab his phone, police said. When the victim resisted, one of the teens punched him in the eye, while one of the teens grabbed his cell phone and both fled on foot, police said.
And on Thursday, a Uniondale High School student walking home from school was thrown to the ground by two men who took his iPad and headphones. The student was not hurt.
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Police urged students to travel in groups and keep electronics hidden.
"People are worried, but they warned us we should just be careful," said a senior, Michelle, who didn't want to give her last name.
Nassau police ask anyone with information to call 800-244-TIPS.
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