Police Blotter
Cops seek creep Violent stabbing at Chelsea Apple store
who groped 12-yearold
girl on East
Village bus
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Detectives are looking for
a creep who groped a
pre-teen girl while riding
the bus in the East Village.
According to police, at 4:39
p.m. on Sept. 14 a 12-year-old
girl was riding the M14D bus
at the intersection of 1st Avenue
and East 14th Street when the
suspect grabbed her groin over
her clothes. The victim got off
the bus at this intersection —
the suspect remained on board
and later disembarked and
entered the subway system.
The NYPD released a
photo and video of the suspect,
who has been identified as
42-year-old Juan Hernandez,
taken from inside the 14 Street-
Union Square Station after the
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NYPD
incident.
Anyone with information in
regard to this incident is asked
to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS
(8477) or for Spanish,
1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Offi cer fi res shot during Flatiron vehicle stop
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
No injuries were reported after a
police offi cer fi red their weapon
during a traffi c stop in the Flatiron
District connected to an ongoing robbery
pattern investigation on Monday morning,
law enforcement sources said.
One man involved in the traffi c stop was
apprehended with minor injuries after attempting
to fl ee offi cers. Another suspect
stopped during the incident remains at
large.
Police sources said the trouble began at
around 1:20 a.m. on Oct. 11, when police
stopped a BMW in the area of West 28th
Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, within
the confi nes of the 13th Precinct.
According to law enforcement sources,
the BMW fi t the description of a vehicle
involved in a citywide robbery pattern that
included two recent high-stakes heists in
Chelsea, in which ritzy robbers swiped
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Disturbing video that the
NYPD released Monday
night shows an armed
perpetrator brawling with an
Apple store security guard in
Chelsea moments before stabbing
him last week.
Police said the fracas erupted
at the high-tech shop at 401 West
14th St. at about 6:20 p.m. on
Oct. 8, when the 37-year-old security
guard got into an argument
with the suspect over wearing a
mask.
The perpetrator, shown on
video wearing a ski mask atop
his head, quickly went on the
attack, smacking the security
guard in the face before fl eeing
the location.
But within moments, law enforcement
sources reported, the
assailant returned to the store, engaged
a 25-year-old female Apple
employee and then punched her
in the face.
Cops said the security guard
spotted the attack and then
re-engaged the suspect. The
millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
But Monday’s car stop quickly devolved
An Apple store security guard and a suspect fight near the
entrance to the Chelsea location on Oct. 8, 2021, moments
before the attacker stabbed the security guard.
video police released on Monday
shows the perpetrator and guard
struggling in the doorway of the
Apple store, moments before the
attacker slashed and stabbed the
security guard with the knife.
Following the attack, police reported,
the suspect fl ed the shop
and was seen running into the
nearby 14th Street/8th Avenue
subway station.
Offi cers from the 10th Precinct
responded to the incident. The
security guard suffered a forehead
PHOTO BY LLOYD MITCHELL
into chaos when the offi cer discharged their
service weapon; no one was hit by the fi red
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYPD
slash wound, a stab wound to his
left arm and three stab wounds
to his back; EMS brought him to
Bellevue Hospital, where he was
treated for his injuries.
The female Apple employee
refused medical attention for
facial pain and swelling, authorities
said.
Anyone with information
regarding the attack or the suspect’s
whereabouts can call Crime
Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for
Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA).
shot.
At this point, it’s unclear why the offi cer
pulled the trigger, sources familiar with the
ongoing investigation said.
Police said the two male suspects managed
to fl ee the BMW on foot, and offi cers
pursued them. Cops were able to capture
one suspect, who reported suffered a minor
head laceration and was treated.
The other man inside the vehicle was
able to elude police and fl ee the scene. He
remains at large at this time.
Sources familiar with the investigation
stated that offi cers at the scene recovered
a fi rearm, allegedly belonging to the suspects,
from inside the BMW.
Two offi cers involved in the shooting
were treated for tinnitus at a local hospital
and released, authorities said.
Anyone with information regarding the
incident or the suspect’s whereabouts can
call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for
Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA).
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66 October 14, 2021 SScchhnneeppss MMeeddiiaa