Man Held Victims Hostage with Fake Gun in Botched Robbery

A would-be robber held three people hostage inside a New York City check-cashing store — even holding a gun to one victim’s head — during a two-hour stand off with cops on Saturday night, police said.

It was only after the man was caught that cops learned his weapon was a fake.

The suspect walked into Darwin Money cash check store on Irving Avenue in Bushwick around 7:45 p.m. “acting like he was going to do a transaction, then announced a robbery,” NYPD chief Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters on Saturday night.

There were two employees and a customer inside the business at the time, cops said. One of the employees was able to escape and call 911.

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When police arrived they found the front door barricaded shut with “multiple chairs,” Maddrey said.

Hostage negotiators started a conversation with the suspect, who pointed a gun at police officers through the window and held the weapon to one of the hostage’s heads.

After speaking for two hours, the suspect “climbed out of a window in the rear of the building, down a ladder and he surrendered to officers,” Maddrey said.

The firearm he had pointed at police officers was later determined to be a fake, cops said.

The man began hyperventilating while in police custody and was treated by EMS before being taken to an area hospital.

The two hostages, who were not injured, were also taken to the hospital for evaluation.

No charges have been announced.

Original Article