A Metropolis Council member from Queens is urging her constituents to arm themselves following a terrifying dwelling invasion through which robbers posing as Amazon drivers tied up a household and snatched hundreds of {dollars} in money, in accordance with cops.
Republican Vickie Paladino supplied to assist residents in her district — which covers Whitestone, the place the ordeal came about — get hold of gun permits in mild of the break-in Monday morning.
“I wish to remind my constituents that New Yorkers have a constitutional proper to guard themselves,” Paladino mentioned in a press release.
“I urge my constituents to avail themselves of their rights underneath the Second Modification; my workplace is all the time out there to help constituents with acquiring firearm permits for premises or hid carry,” she mentioned Tuesday.
The conservative pol’s name to arms got here because the NYPD on Wednesday launched surveillance footage of the pair of needed perps sporting baseball caps, with one in all them carrying an Amazon field and the opposite sporting a bright-yellow vest, strolling on the quiet residential block.
The masked thieves pushed their approach into the house at round 9 a.m., tying up the household dwelling there, together with three youngsters, duct-taping their mouths — after which making off with the money and jewellery, cops mentioned.
“The NYPD has indicated that this was a focused incident and there’s no ongoing menace to the group,” Paladino mentioned.
“Let me be completely clear – violence has no place in Whitestone or wherever in our district.”
Neighbors mentioned dwelling invasions weren’t unusual within the space — with at the very least two telling The Put up that they had just lately been robbed.
A 37-year-old Whitestone resident who declined to present her identify mentioned cash and jewellery have been taken from her home six months in the past, however fortunately nobody was dwelling on the time.
“I don’t assume it was random. I feel individuals are scoping out the realm,” she mentioned.
“This neighborhood has been slightly loopy. The identical factor that occurred to them occurred to us.”
One other neighbor, a 25-year-old man, mentioned his home had been damaged into about six months in the past as effectively.
“When that occurred, we acquired ready. You gotta defend your self. All that issues is your life. The unhealthy folks, they by no means get caught,” he instructed the Put up.
The 109th precinct, which encompasses Whitestone, has reported 99 robberies up to now in 2025.
The NYPD remains to be looking for the suspects within the newest heist.
“The security of our neighborhoods is my high precedence – and I cannot sit quietly whereas violence threatens our neighborhoods,” Paladino mentioned.
