Chinese food deliveryman beaten, shot at
Two crooks beat and shot at a Chinese food deliveryman in a brutal Brooklyn robbery that yielded a measly $5, police said.
The victim was dropping off an order at a Lefferts Ave. apartment building near Brooklyn Ave. in Crown Heights about 9:20 p.m. Saturday when two men in hooded sweatshirts and surgical masks stormed up to him in the building vestibule, cops said.
One of the men flashed a gun as he and an accomplice threw the deliveryman against the vestibule wall and pistol-whipped him, cops said.
Surveillance video recovered by police shows the two men pressing him against the wall while going through his pockets, taking his cell phone, $5 in cash and the Chinese food order before leaving.
The deliveryman chased one of the suspects down the block, but quickly stopped when the man turned and fired a shot at him. No one was hit and the victim refused medical attention at the scene, cops said.
Police on Tuesday released the surveillance footage of the robbery in the hopes someone recognizes the two thieves.
The harrowing holdup occurred exactly one week after Queens Chinese food deliveryman Zhiwen Yan was fatally shot as he motored down a street in Astoria to make a drop-off, cops said. As of Tuesday, no arrests have been made in his killing.
Police suspect the killing could be linked to a longstanding beef with a disgruntled customer who complained that the restaurant where Yan worked didn’t give him enough duck sauce.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.