Three robbers cut off a man’s thumb with a meat cleaver and slashed his face while they broke into his home in Queens, police sources say.
Two men, ages 59 and 62, were robbed in their St. Albans, Queens home by three men April 23, WPIX reported.
The 59-year-old victim was carrying groceries into his basement apartment at 116th Road by Farmers Blvd. in St. Albans around 1:30 p.m., when he found a stranger in the room.
The man took out a pair of gloves, while the victim asked him what he was doing there and if he was looking for another man who lives in the house, police sources said.
A second man with a firearm then appeared and forced the victim into the apartment at gunpoint, demanding “money and dope,” the New York Daily News reported.
One of the men took the victim’s cell phone and started tying him up, but the victim broke free and managed to take his attacker’s gun, police sources said.
Police said while the 59-year-old victim was trying to escape, one of the robbers slashed his face, hands, and thumb with a meat cleaver.
The victim ran upstairs, where he was confronted by the third robber, who was wielding knives, before he escaped from the home and flagged down a neighbor who called 911.
The 62-year-old neighbor’s apartment was also broken into, but he was able to escape without any apparent injuries, CBS New York reported.
The robbers then fled the house.
The 59-year-old victim was taken to a hospital, where he received 100 stitches to his face and hands and had his thumb re-attached.
The suspects are still at large.