'Give me money': Police searching for serial robber in New York City

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Police are looking for a man who has stolen money from businesses and people in Manhattan in the last two weeks. 

PIX11 News obtained surveillance video of one of these robberies. 

Police say in most of the incidents, the suspect used a Citi bike to get away after committing these crimes.  According to authorities, he pretended to have a gun. It is not confirmed if he was indeed armed.  

 Amjad Ali has owned a deli on East 34th Street and Second Avenue in midtown for three decades.  

“My guy said he didn’t see the gun, but he said I have gun give me money,” said Ali

Surveillance cameras captured the moment when a man who said he was carrying a gun approached one of his workers and demanded money from the register.

“He checked on the inside. He didn’t say nothing. We keep 100 dollars always, gave to him,” added the deli owner.

Alis’ business is one of at least six along the east side between East Third and East 107 Street that have been robbed in the last two weeks. Authorities are looking for this suspect.

“I’m scared about that, if something happens like that,’ said  Ahmed Hamed. Adding says it is terrifying knowing that there is a man out there who is potentially armed.  Police say the Dunkin's location next to his convenience store on East 57th  and Second Avenue was a target last Wednesday.  

The perpetrator is not just aiming at businesses. Police say at least three other robberies have occurred to random people walking on the street.  One of the victims was a 17-year-old boy. Same age as Jeremiah Ortiz.

“Sometimes you just gotta be on the lookout because you don’t know what happened on the day-to-day basis,” stated the teenager.

 According to the NYPD,  the thief has stolen about 1,000 thousand dollars. But as this worker from another deli that was also robbed says, the damage the criminal is causing is way much more.

 “Sometimes, I feel scared because I don’t know who is coming. If you are scared about who comes in, how can you do your business?”