Armed robbers recently carried out separate robberies at Rite Aids in the two cities, netting about $9,000 in total.
The first brazen stick-up occurred on February 17 when three men approached workers in South Richmond Hill, Queens, officers said. Police say he spat out $3,000 when the employee was threatened with a firearm.
About a month later, the same thugs rioted again in Brownsville, Brooklyn, brandishing guns and threatening employees before fleeing with $5,700, according to the NYPD.
No one was injured in the robbery.
The unidentified suspects fled in a black sedan, two of whom were later spotted on surveillance cameras in the deli, officials said.
The unmasked suspects, dressed in black and wearing hats, are still on the run, police said. Police said they were also wearing robbery gloves.
Rite Aid said it was reducing its footprint in five boroughs last year after losing $5 million in shoplifting losses.
A shoplifting epidemic in the city prompted Mayor Eric Adams to back a proposal from Gov. Cathy Hochul. This would tweak the state’s controversial bail reform law to give judges more discretion to put serial shoplifters behind bars.
