Man, 81, Chases iPhone Thief, Gets Pushed onto Subway Tracks by 2nd Suspect

Two teenaged suspects were arrested late Wednesday in the robbery.

Police have arrested two teenagers in the iPhone robbery of an 81-year-old man who was pushed onto the subway tracks in Brooklyn when he tried to run after his assailants, authorities announced late Wednesday.

The names of the suspects, ages 15 and 17, have not been released. They are being held at the precinct pending formal charges.

The robbery occurred last Friday morning at the Lorimer Street subway station in Williamsburg as the victim, Andrew Wang, was waiting for a J train.

He told NBC New York he had taken out his iPhone to check the time.

"And suddenly a guy picked my iPhone, just run away," said Wang, who was resting at home with a wrapped-up ankle. "I chased him a little bit, and about 10 steps later, another guy just pushed me and I fell down."

Wang fell on the tracks, and was later taken to a hospital. Looking back on the incident, he said giving chase was probably a dangerous move.

"But my purpose was not to catch him," he said. "My purpose was because I see so many people on the platform, let them know somebody has robbed me."

Wang seemed determined not to be shaken by the robbery.

"It happened, so what can you do?" he said.

Surveillance cameras captured images of both suspects. Less than a day after police distributed the images to media outlets, they were taken into custody.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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