In the early hours of Sunday, around 2 a.m. on January 11th, a underground casino on 35th Avenue in Flushing was robbed by 7 armed bandits. Some of the robbers were wielding guns or knives, looting a large sum of cash, credit cards, jewelry, luxury watches, and two BMW cars. All 9 victims were of Chinese descent, forced to strip down to their underwear as they were searched, leaving a chilling scene. The stolen items were estimated to be worth over 300,000 dollars, and one suspect has already been apprehended.
Surveillance footage showed that around 2 a.m. on January 11th, 7 masked bandits with covered heads and gloves, only revealing their eyes, broke into an apartment at 133-43 35th Avenue in Flushing. Some of them had guns, some had knives, ordering the 9 young Chinese men and women inside to gather in one room, demanding them to hold their heads and squat down. The Chinese individuals complied, afraid to even look up. One of the Chinese men was brutally beaten, his head bloodied, with a pool of fresh blood on the ground.
The robbers ransacked the place, searching every corner and all bags, forcing the Chinese individuals to strip off their tops and pants one by one in front of them. Each man was left with just underwear, while the women were left with their bras and underwear, in a disheveled state. During the process, a woman, after being stripped to her undergarments, was taken out of the room by the robbers, the treatment she received remaining unknown. As the robbers made their escape, they left the victims lying on the ground, naked and vulnerable.
Police revealed that the location was an underground casino, where the thieves made off with a large amount of cash, iPhones, expensive watches, jewelry, necklaces, and two BMW cars, totaling around 300,000 dollars in losses. The victims were physically assaulted, threatened, with several women even sexually harassed by the robbers, their breasts and genitals groped. The robbers also destroyed gambling machines.
Authorities stated that all 9 victims were of Chinese descent, with 5 men and 4 women (their accents were identified as Fuzhou dialect from the video evidence). The robbers included individuals of African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic descent, totaling 7 in number, with one already captured – a 37-year-old Hispanic black man named Giovanny Abreau-Perez from the Bronx.
The issue of underground gambling in Flushing has long been a problem. The area harbors numerous hidden underground casinos, leading to crimes such as robbery, brawl, and bloodshed, impacting the social order. Yet driven by the lure of profits, many Chinese individuals still take risks with their lives by engaging in gambling.
The footage of the incident at the underground casino on 35th Avenue has been released, showing a horrifying scene as the armed and violent robbers subjected the individuals inside to humiliation and stripping them of their dignity. Female victims endured sexual harassment as they were groped, with one resident of Flushing remarking that underground gambling venues are harmful and contribute to criminal activities, making the community unstable.