A man lied about a dead rat in the bathroom of a Bushwick smoke shop to lure a worker there and rob the store while he was gone, police say.
Around 11:30 a.m. on March 2, a man wearing a New Orleans Saints jacket walked into Tony’s Smoke Shop at 66 Wyckoff Ave. in Bushwick and asked to use the bathroom. When the robber had finished, he told the 65-year-old worker that there was a giant dead rat inside that needed to be cleaned up, according to cops.
The employee went into the bathroom where the robber suddenly struck him in the head several times with a hard object, NYPD said.
The suspect then smashed the cash register on the ground and stole $400 and the worker’s iPhone before running away, authorities said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. You can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website.
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