Astonishing moment homeowner smashes through his own front door to confront thieves as cops hunt gang behind three-month robbing spree across ritzy NYC neighborhoods
- A group of burglars has broken into 13 homes in Brooklyn and Queens
- One brave man broke through the front door of his own house to face them
- The robbers managed to steal clothes, jewelry and luxury cars from other homes
Footage from a Ring camera shows the shocking moment a man burst through his own front door to defend his family and home from a band of burglars.
The thieves have broken into 13 homes across New York City neighborhoods, stealing luxury cars and clothing in an operation that spanned three months and multiple boroughs.
The video was released as police continue the hunt for three men associated with the break-ins.
The men targeted neighborhoods across Brooklyn and Queens, including quiet cul-de-sacs in upscale parts of Whitestone and Bayside.
Although police released images of the suspects, they have yet to be found.
The New York Post reported that the men stole luxury vehicles including a Porsche, Mercedes and Range Rover in a span stretching from June through August.
A group of thieves has targeted homes across several boroughs in New York City since June, snatching jewelry, clothing and cars
According to police, the collective worked in bands of three or four while they targeted homes mostly in suburban Whitestone.
The most recent Crime toppers report, released September 3, pictured three masked men.
The group broke into the first house on June 2 near Point Crescent but were chased out by the homeowner before they could grab anything.
One victim spoke to CBS New York after the men attempted to rob her home later that month.
The woman said she and her husband woke to alerts from their Ring camera at 5am before her husband saw two men heading up the front steps.
She called 911 but her husband acted on pure impulse seeing as their young children were asleep upstairs.
‘Out of panic mode he just punched right through the door,’ she said. At the time she thought the men had shot into the house.
Video obtained by CBS shows glass splintering before the man bolts out the door, forcing the burglars to scatter.
The following day, a BMW sedan was taken from a house near 291th Street and 38th Avenue.
A Range Rover SUV and a Porsche went missing from a home near Cambridge Road and Somerset Street the day after that.
The men proceeded to take jewelry, clothes, money and a Mercedes Benz from a home near Ridge Boulevard and 77th Street in Brooklyn.
Three of the thieves managed to get inside a home near Coleridge Street and Oriental Boulevard and took items ranging from clothes to jewelry, but also made off with a Mercedes Benz and a BMW SUV.
According to the New York Police Department, authorities found the stolen BMW sedan, a Mercedes Benz sedan and the Genesis sedan. The other cars are still at large, just like the burglars.
As police continue to hunt for the three men, the unpredictable nature of the robberies has ignited concern across Whitestone.
Alex Arsenis showed CBS the window used when his home was broken in to two years ago. He told reporters that he’d added extra cameras since hearing about the string of break-ins.
Another neighbor, Thomas Doherty, said: ‘If it continues to escalate, someone is going to be killed perhaps. Where do we step in?’
Even though the last known burglary took place on August 2, police warned people to remain vigilant.
The NYPD has asked anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 (English) or 1-888-577-4782 (Spanish).
