A man using a FedEx shirt as a disguise to get into an apartment building to steal packages got a surprise when the real delivery driver faced him outside on a Manhattan sidewalk, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance video Friday of a daring robbery in Washington Heights on May 9. Police said the alleged package thief, disguised as a FedEx worker with the company's logo emblazoned on the arm was confronted by a real delivery driver as he was coming out of an apartment building.
The fake delivery man walked out of the building on West 159th Street with a large box under his arm, briefly teetering on his bike as he tries to pedal it away, the surveillance video appears to show. The real delivery driver confronted the fake FedEx employee and when he tried to get the box back, police said the man on the bicycle pulled out what looked like a knife and threatened to stab him.
The man on the bike then took the package back and rode off on his bicycle going north on Amsterdam Avenue, police said.
"Would you ever question someone wearing a FedEx shirt?" asked Kenneth Batista of Washington Heights. "To be completely honest, no. But based on what you told me, I guess we should, you never know who's who now."
FedEx told NBC New York its couriers are required to wear company-issued badges with the employee's photo on them at all times.
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"We encourage any customer who is suspicious about shipments or suspects fraudulent activity to contact the appropriate authorities immediately," a spokesperson for FedEx said in a statement. "We fully cooperate with authorities in any investigations and would direct further inquiry to those investigating authorities."
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The 33-year-old delivery worker, the victim in the case, was not injured during the incident, according to police.
"I think they look for return addresses and this was Ralph Lauren, and they thought this is good, I'll take this," said Washington Heights resident David Reshler.
The NYPD is searching for the suspect in the brazen robbery and said there have been no arrests made yet. Some residents in the area said package thefts are a big complaint in the neighborhood and they are now using pickups at the post office or an Amazon locker.
