Police are looking for the three thieves who violently robbed a 13-year-old at Kings Plaza Mall in Mill Basin.
According to authorities, the three brutes approached the young victim inside a stairwell of the beloved shopping center near Avenue U and Flatbush Avenue on May 7, before kicking and punching him repeatedly at around 4:30 p.m.
Once the teen was on the ground, the suspects grabbed the victim’s cell phone and ran off, according to the NYPD.
Cops say the robbers then exited Kings Plaza Mall, and boarded a northbound B41 bus.
Paramedics arrived on the scene and treated the victim, but he did not require a trip to the hospital.
Between New Year’s Day and May 7, when the most recent NYPD data is available, there had been 31 robberies in the 63rd Police Precinct, where the Sunday afternoon robbery of the teen took place. Citywide during that time frame, meanwhile, the NYPD recorded 5,319 robberies in the Five Boroughs.
Kings Plaza Mall is a staple of the southern Brooklyn community, and is the largest single shopping center in Kings County — though it has had its fair share of incidents.
Earlier this year, a man was sentenced to 9 years behind bars for shooting a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old at Kings Plaza Mall. Both victims in the case were hospitalized and later released.
In 2013, the mall instituted strict rules after a flash mob over 200 teens started a melee inside the building. After that, the mall security banned all minors under 18, unless they were accompanied by an adult chaperone — though enforcement of that has since waned.
The mall itself was a target in 2018, when a a Flatlands arsonist set a massive blaze that engulfed the parking garage of the shopping center. The suspect in that case was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
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). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
