A fake UPS worker hiding a gun in a parcel forced his way into a Bronx couple's apartment, then demanded the husband and wife bind themselves and their young grandchildren with zip ties as the impersonator and an accomplice ransacked the place, making off with a piggy bank among other items, the NYPD said.
The suspects also made off with two iPhones, an iPad, personal documents and more than $7,500 in cash they snatched from a safe in the Billingsley Terrace home around 5 p.m. Monday.
According to police, the man in the UPS hat pushed the 60-year-old grandma inside the apartment when she opened the door and pulled a silver revolver out from the package he had been holding as part of the ruse. The accomplice then joined him.
At gunpoint, the suspects forced the grandmother and her 63-year-old husband to tie up themselves and their 8- and 6-year-old grandchildren with zip ties. They moved around the house, stealing the cash and valuables along with a child's piggy bank. They ran off after that.
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None of the four victims was hurt.
Police released surveillance video of the suspects (above). It shows the fake UPS worker pacing in front of the couple's apartment door as a second individual, the accomplice, pops in and out of the frame before moving out of it completely.
Later, the footage shows the two running down the stairs out of the building. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
