- The NYPD is searching for a vigilante who allegedly shot at a homeless man at the Times Square subway station
- Surveillance footage shows the suspected shooter wearing a light green T-shirt, black shorts, white socks and black shoes with white soles.
New York police are searching for a vigilante who allegedly shot at a homeless man who tried to rob a woman in Times Square.
The suspected homeless robber has been identified as Matthew Roesch, 49, and has been charged with attempted robbery.
Apparently he tried to ‘forcibly’ take a 40-year-old woman’s belongings last night.
That’s when the suspected gunmen intervened and fired shots at Roesch, according to officials.
The incident occurred at 49th Street N, R and W in the Times Square subway station.
The woman has still not been identified by police and has not commented on the incident.
Surveillance footage shows the suspected shooter wearing a light green T-shirt, black shorts, white socks and black shoes with white soles.
Surveillance footage shows the suspected shooter wearing a light green T-shirt, black shorts, white socks and black shoes with white soles.
He was also seen wearing a khaki backpack and a reusable bright green B&H Photo Video tote bag.
According to officials, Roesch was holding open an emergency exit gate near the turnstiles when he told the woman to hand over her money or he would steal her purse.
The interaction caught the attention of the alleged shooters who told Roesch to “leave her alone.”
He then shot twice to stop the robbery. No injuries have been reported.
Roesch, who was staying at a homeless shelter at Bellevue Hospital in Kips Bay and was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the incident.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey explained that Roesch is allegedly a “swiper,” a person who pushes people through MetroCard turnstiles for tips and is known to police.
He has previously been arrested for stealing service at the Times Square-West 42nd Station stop on September 18.
Davey told me CBS: “We will not tolerate this in New York City Transit, period. We have the wallet-theft-slash-swiper in custody. We will also take this man into custody. Thank God no one was injured in this case.
“I’m just here to tell New Yorkers, our customers, that this type of behavior – misconduct – will not be tolerated. We will continue to work closely with Transit Police and in this case, bring these two perpetrators to justice.”
He further said that after watching the surveillance video, he noticed that the gunmen were unusually calm.
“It’s, I would say, unusual. He looks quite calm, pulls out a gun, fires two shots, calmly puts the gun back in a bag and walks away.
“I mean, it’s weird. But the thing is, we don’t need that from anyone in the system,” he said.
This comes a year after NYC Governor Kathy Hochul said the state passed a law banning concealed carry in “sensitive” locations, including parks, subways, houses of worship and playgrounds.
Under the rule, licensed gun owners are only allowed to carry weapons in Times Square when traveling through the area to or from their homes.
People will be able to carry guns in their cars while driving through Times Square if they don’t stop and the guns will be unloaded and stored in locked containers.
Properly licensed company employees, such as security guards, will also be able to carry weapons within the confines of Times Square.
The law was the result of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down New York State’s century-old restrictions on concealed carry laws in June 2022.