An armed robber set off a smoke bomb in a building hallway, then attacked a woman in her apartment, police say. Ray Villeda reports.
What to Know
- A woman suffered a violent home invasion involving a smoke bomb in the Bronx Tuesday, police say
- The suspect threw a smoke bomb in the Bronx building to lure out the woman, then pushed her back into the apartment and pistol-whipped her
- He ran off with some money; neighbors say the bleeding woman screamed for help from her fire escape
An armed robber set off a smoke bomb in a building hallway, then attacked a woman in her apartment in the Bronx Tuesday afternoon, prompting her to scream for help from a fifth-floor fire escape, police say.
The suspect ignited the smoke bomb in the building at 47 West 175th St. just before 1:30 p.m., and when a 50-year-old woman walked out of her apartment into the smoke-filled hallway, the suspect pushed her back into the apartment, police said.
He pistol-whipped her in the face several times and demanded money, then ran off, according to police. It's not clear if he took anything.
A neighbor said she saw the woman screaming for help from the fire escape.
"She was just like saying, 'Help, help,' but in Spanish, 'Help, come, the guy's in my house, he's in my house,'" she said.
"When she came out her face was bleeding, she said someone hit her in the face and they tried to rob her," she said.
Local
EMS transported the woman to Lincoln Hospital; she was suffering swelling and cuts to the face.
Two police officers were taken to Columbia-Presbyterian with smoke inhalation.
