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A man posing as a UPS delivery person and his accomplice robbed a Bronx, New York family during a home invasion.
According to the New York Police Department, the robbery occurred Sunday afternoon in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. The man rang the victims’ doorbell while wearing a hat with the letters UPS on it and holding a box, People magazine reported.
“Upon the victim opening the door, the individual pushed her inside the apartment and revealed that he had a silver revolver inside of the box. After the individual gained entry, a second individual joined him,” the statement read. “At gunpoint, the individuals demanded that the 60-year-old female victim, her 63-year-old husband, and their grandchildren, an 8-year-old male and a 6-year-old female, use zip ties to bind themselves.”
“They took everything. They took everything for Christmas,” the grandfather told WCBS-TV, as translated by his building’s superintendent Raul Ortiz.
“It’s home invasion — worse than robbery. Tie you up and everything,” Ortiz said.
A surveillance video captured the delivery impersonator by the apartment door while his accomplice paced in a nearby hallway. The two men were seen carrying bags of stolen items out of the building lobby, People magazine reported.
“They came in here, rushed on my parents acting like UPS workers. Tied them up, took a couple of stuff from here,” the victim’s son, who was not home at the time, told WCBS-TV.
“They’re scared. They’re still scared,” the son continued. “They took the kids’ phones and tablets… took cash they found around the house.”
The suspects took over $7,500 in cash from a safe as well as a piggy bank, along with Apple electronics, police confirmed.
Since robberies have increased during the holiday season, police warned residents not to open the door if they weren’t expecting delivery packages or if something didn’t feel right.
Anyone with information regarding this weekend’s burglary suspects in the Bronx, call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.