The NYPD is searching for three people, at least one armed, who stole about $100,000 worth of merchandise from a Pokemon store in Manhattan and threatened about 40 customers on Wednesday night, authorities said.
At around 6:45 p.m., the NYPD said they received a 911 call about an armed robbery at The Poke Court at 412 W 13th St. in the Meatpacking District.
According to a Poke employee and store social media posts, the three men wearing masks entered the store during its first community event. The trio allegedly closed off the store entrance while pointing a gun at customers and employees, then smashed and stole items from various cases and cash.
The store, which opened in November, was hosting an arts and crafts decorating event for about 40 people.
A masked man can be seen smashing a glass display case with a hammer in security footage posted on the store’s social media.
Owner Courtney Chin showed the broken display case in a video on social media, describing Wednesday as a “bad day.”
“We’re just glad that everyone is safe and things did not escalate further. No one should have guns pointed at them when just trying to enjoy their favorite card game,” Chin said in a statement.
The trio stole cash, a 27-year-old woman’s cellphone and about $100,000 worth of merchandise and trading cards, employee Peter Du told Newsday in an email.
The trio was “in and out in a matter of minutes,” Du said.
No one was reported injured and no arrests have been made, police said.
“We’re sad that this happened during our first ever community night where people came to decorate their favorite cards with stickers and jewels,” Chin said in the statement. “We’re overwhelmed with the love from the community and we want to be able to give back and have fun events with everyone again.”
Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.