Video: Burglar Sets Fire to Brownsville Check Cashing Business

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — An unidentified man (in the video below) set fire to a Brownsville check cashing business during an attempted robbery last weekend, said the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The suspect entered a Pay-o-Matic located at 160 Rockaway Avenue on Saturday, Sept, 24 at 10:30 a.m. and demanded money as he approached the counter, police said.

The suspect "then poured gasoline on the floor and threatened to ignite it...then lit the match and dropped it on the floor before fleeing the location empty handed, NYPD said.

There were no injuries reported at the scene, police said.

The suspect is described as a male standing approximately 5 foot-nine-inches tall, and was last seen wearing a black jacket with a black shoulder bag, NYPD said.

The robbery described above took place in the NYPD's 73rd Precinct, which patrols Brownsville. According to official police statistics, through mid-September, robberies in the 73rd were down 36 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.