NYC Police are investigating an armed gang terrorizing Manhattan in a string robberies – including a shooting at an Upper East Side restaurant that left terrified diners fleeing after a victim was shot in the leg.
Surveillance footage shows terrified Manhattan diners caught up in the latest brazen robbery, this time at Philippe Chow on the Upper East Side after 10pm on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, when two masked, armed men attempted to rob two men of their Rolex watches.
They stole one man’s watch and shot a 28-year-old man on a first date in the leg when he tried to defend himself and grab the weapon.
Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams returned to the scene of the crime the next day to dine with restaurant owner Philippe Chow, eating at the same table where Melchior Cooke, 28, was shot.
“This is not a restaurant where crime problems are happening, but for someone to come by and attempt a robbery while you sit down and enjoy a meal is just unacceptable,” Adams said. “Our restaurants are really the bellwether of how well we recover. And I constantly state that the prerequisite of our prosperity is public safety.
“The boldness of those who want to hurt New Yorkers are looking to prey on innocent people no matter where they are … if we ignore this problem in Brownsville it is going to spill over on Broadway,” he continued.
Adams had lunch at the restaurant to show New Yorkers that they should not be afraid.
“Let’s patronize this restaurant and tell those who want to intimate us with crime, we are not fleeing from crime. We are not going to shut down our city. We did not shut down from a pandemic and darn it we are not going to shut down for crime.”
The armed robbery at Philippe Chow is the latest in a string of armed robberies targeting expensive jewelry and goods in major cities from New York to LA to Atlanta and Philadelphia.