Good Samaritan intervenes as crook assaults young woman, snatches her purse in Elmhurst: NYPD

Police say the 21-year-old victim was at the intersection of Elmhurst Avenue and Forley Street at 5:45 a.m. when she was approached by a stranger who punched her in the face with a closed first and forcibly removed her purse before running off. An eyewitness sprang into action and chased down the perpetrator and was able to recover the victim’s purse and cell phone, but the suspect got away with $80 in cash, according to a law enforcement source. The victim refused medical attention at the scene.

The NYPD released a surveillance image of the suspect on Aug. 5. He has a medium complexion and black hair, and was wearing a dark T-shirt with a white graphic across the chest, blue jeans shorts and black sneakers.

A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.

Anyone with information regarding this robbery investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are strictly confidential.

Through Aug. 2, the 110th Precinct has reported 249 robberies so far in 2026, 15 more than the 234 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 6.4%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are also on the rise in the precinct with 389 reported so far this year, 44 more than the 345 reported at the same point in 2025, an increase of 12.8%, according to CompStat.