New York City police are looking for a suspect who allegedly robbed NBC 4 New York sportscaster Bruce Beck outside Rockefeller Plaza Wednesday night, the New York Daily News reported.
According to the report, Beck, 66, left the NBC studios near W. 49th Street around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man ran up and grabbed him, cut his back pocket, and took his wallet before running off.
The 25-year sportscasting veteran was not injured in the incident, the report said.
According to the station's website, Beck is the television station’s lead sports anchor and hosts the Sunday night “Sports Final” program.
A New York Post profile of Beck from July labeled him as the “hardest working man in show business,” documenting a day he started work at 9:15 a.m. and didn't finish until around 1 a.m. the following morning.
The robbery occurred even as violent crime decreased in New York City last month, dropping 5.7%, according to the city.
The city reported 11,165 crimes in 2023 compared to 11,838 during the same period in 2022, including a 13.6% decline in robberies from 1,752 in July 2022 to 1,513 this year.
Homicides have decreased by 35.5%, rapes by 17.3%, burglaries by 17.6%, and hate crimes by 8%, according to the city.
While those violent crimes are down, grand larceny auto crimes rose 18.5% during July, which the city said could be due to “the well-documented exploitation of vulnerabilities in the ignition system of certain Kia and Hyundai models that make them susceptible to theft.”
Additionally, in July major crimes on the city’s subway system decreased, with 172 reported incidents compared to 191 in July 2022.
July continues a trend of major crime decreases in five categories during the year's first seven months, including a drop of 11.2% in murders, a 10.9% drop in rapes, a 6.3% drop in robberies, and a 10.7% drop in burglaries, the city reports.
“In all they do, NYPD officers represent the best of our public-service traditions — working nonstop to knock down crime and improve public safety,” said Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “The men and women of this department will never waver in their ongoing mission to not only keep the city safe — but to make sure all New Yorkers are living free from fear. We are the safest big city in America and we will continue to build on our measurable successes in order to keep it that way.”
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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