Witnessed a phone snatch on the waterfront tonight

Submitted by Stargazerem30 t3_11iinr0 in jerseycity

Three of us were walking to the ferry along the waterfront and what we thought was a group of four kids suddenly ran past us. We thought nothing of it as one was laughing and none were yelling for help etc.

They get a little bit in front of us, one turns around and pulls out a large knife and swings at another, and we suddenly realize what's happening. Knife holder and his friends run off, we talk to the girlfriend of the guy targeted to make sure he's ok and she says they had stopped to look at something on his phone and the kids sprinted up and snatched it. He was physically unharmed but him and his girlfriend both shaken.

Police were called, my reason for posting is to remind everyone to stay safe and vigilant!

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Comments

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craftadvisory t1_jayloq4 wrote

Can you clarify your story? Who was swinging the knife? Why would one kid be swinging a knife at his friends?

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Stargazerem30 OP t1_jaypbq6 wrote

I'm trying to say we thought it was a group of friends, who were fooling around, chasing each other, etc. In reality, it was actually the victim chasing the kid who stole his phone. The kid who stole the phone then turned around with a knife and swung.

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bodhipooh t1_jayo4zu wrote

What’s there to clarify? One of the kids swung a knife at another person and stole their phone, then that kid and his friends ran off.

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Jahooodie t1_jb0tgra wrote

This is similar to the stories people have posted here of groups of teens/kids robbing them with weapons on the waterfront/newport/back up 2nd street. Could be unrelated, but still that gnarly

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SadMaverick t1_jb1alky wrote

We also faced multiple group of teenagers harassing people near Newport area. Did not steal in our case, but had spray cans of foam spraying it all over people and running away.

What is up with the sudden increase in nuisance past few months?

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Technical_Wall1726 t1_jaz0qb4 wrote

Are there phone cases you can get that make it hard to someone to snatch ?

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ozymandias_514 t1_jazyf36 wrote

Yes there are such cases, for example cases with finger loop, which will make it difficult to be snatched. But, I am not sure how much these can help when the robber is carrying a knife..

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Technical_Wall1726 t1_jb0ofei wrote

Yeah if you’re threatened there’s nothing you can do except use a crappy phone in public

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JCYimby t1_jb3lpve wrote

Yeah I don’t know about you, but I’m not risking my life over a phone.

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vmsxx t1_jb3j4nd wrote

was the thief black?

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G_Funk_Error t1_jb0c7gn wrote

A phone snatch!? Marry her!! That’s better than one with teeth. Oh. Wait. I misunderstood what you meant.

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ChissWiz t1_jaz1qst wrote

poor kid probably grew up disenfranchised with little education or work opportunities

#holla

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[deleted] t1_jayvxix wrote

[deleted]

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[deleted] t1_jayy7ym wrote

[deleted]

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WarrenBuffetsDriver t1_jayyp9z wrote

He said kid turned back and pulled a knife. Seems concealed carry would not have stunted any continuation of pursuit.

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flockofcells t1_jb04cql wrote

Kid doesn’t grab phone in the first place, doesn’t think about pulling a knife when he knows people in the crowd carry.

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G_Funk_Error t1_jb0cd8b wrote

Bingo. Never knew why this was so hard to understand.

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matteofox t1_jb0q8gw wrote

Because it’s still gonna happen anyway, the threat of violence doesn’t prevent crime. In concealed carry states, crime still exists at similar rates to places without concealed carry. And also like….. it’s just a petty theft. Is property more important than life?

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flockofcells t1_jb0rvhy wrote

You don't pull a gun unless there is risk of death or serious physical harm, and you don't go instigating that over petty theft, so you're right it's better to let it go. The trouble is by tolerating petty theft today, it paves the road for more serious crimes tomorrow. I don't want to watch the JC waterfront slowly turn back into a place that isn't safe at night.

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matteofox t1_jb0ss5u wrote

I can see how my wording could make it seem like I think petty theft is tolerable. When I said “just a petty theft”, I was simply comparing it to lethal force, in terms of severity. We agree - we should not tolerate petty theft

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G_Funk_Error t1_jb0qgdy wrote

Lol the 20/20 hindsight. Because I don’t know what the attacker is packing or what they ultimately want. Police in JC don’t respond for days. What are you missing here.

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matteofox t1_jb0r1us wrote

You really want to live in a society where anyone can hold lethal force at any time? What if you piss somebody off and they’re having a bad day? Look up road rage shootings by state. You really want to get lit up for cutting somebody off?

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G_Funk_Error t1_jb0r56r wrote

Lol those are examples of illegal behavior. You’re not ready to debate this. Lol.

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matteofox t1_jb0rqpm wrote

Yes because making concealed carry legal isn’t going to increase illegal shootings at all. 🙄

It’s literally common sense. Move to Texas if you wanna live in a crimeless, gun filled utopia

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G_Funk_Error t1_jb0rliu wrote

You answer your awful premise directly, no. I’d rather we have a police force that did their job and prosecutors who did their jobs. Since that doesn’t exist, I, as a lawful and trained gun owner, should be allowed to defend myself in the instance of a robbery which is where this discussion started.

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zjuka t1_jazbgjr wrote

Yeah, definitely distressed victim of the phone snatching shooting onto the crowd at the waterfront is the solution. Get your head out of your ass please, macho

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matteofox t1_jaz3znb wrote

I’m glad there isn’t concealed carry, because if there was, someone may have died in this situation. Everyone walked away alive. I’d rather permit the injustice of a phone being stolen than someone, especially a kid, be shot dead

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SlamaCo t1_jazmite wrote

The guy chases for his phone and the kid takes out his gun. Thanks concealed carry! Gtfo dumbass

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Dependent_Map_3940 t1_jb07arw wrote

if the state had conceal carry, then the phone snatched would have a gun too & he wouldn’t even snatched & dash; he would’ve shot the victim then taken the phone.

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