Central Park visitors are being warned to remain alert after a string of armed cellphone robberies Thursday night.
Six people were robbed at gunpoint in four separate incidents along East Drive, according to police.
The muggings unfolded over roughly an hour, with the suspects apparently targeting unsuspecting parkgoers and taking their cellphones.
Police had not determined by Friday whether the robberies were carried out by the same group, and the investigation remained ongoing.
The first robbery was reported at about 8:41 p.m. near East 79th Street and East Drive, police said.
A 28-year-old man told officers that three unknown males approached him. One of them displayed a gun before the group took his cellphone.
The suspects then rode away on bicycles, heading east through Central Park, according to police.
About 50 minutes later, a 46-year-old man was robbed near East 109th Street and East Drive, police said.
The man told investigators that three males approached him and that one showed a firearm before they grabbed his phone.
Fifteen minutes later, officers responded to East 106th Street and East Drive following reports of two additional robberies.
A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman told police they were confronted by three males, including one who displayed a gun.
The suspects stole both victims’ phones.
At the same location, two 43-year-old men stopped officers and reported that three males had also pulled a gun on them and taken their cellphones, police said.
After the final robberies, the suspects fled east toward Fifth Avenue, according to police.
