Child stabbed in home invasionPolice looking for two men after Elmont robbery
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According to Fifth Squad Detective Sgt. Robert Galgano, the "push-in" robbery took place shortly before 7 p.m. last Wednesday, Dec. 15. The 35-year-old mother, who will not be identified by police, was coming home from grocery shopping with her daughter in tow. After opening the door and letting the little girl in, she went back to her car to pick up more bags.
At that point, she said, two men, one wearing a ski mask, came out from behind a backyard shed and shoved their way inside the woman's basement apartment.
Police say the woman was pushed onto her living room couch while one of the men took her daughter into another room. The woman was commanded to hand over her cash and her ATM card and tell them her pin number, under the threat of harm to herself and her daughter.
She gave the men the $34 she had as well as the card, but not before there was a struggle. Police say one of the men dragged her into the bathroom and slammed her head into her Plexiglas shower doors, smashing them to pieces.
After they got what they came for, the two men ran from the home and fled in an unknown direction. The woman immediately called 911. When police arrived, she said that her daughter was apparently uninjured but scared. But according to police, a cousin who had come to the house soon after the police discovered that the child, who was not crying, had been stabbed.
After the girl complained that her stomach hurt, police say the cousin removed the girl's jacket and found blood on her sweater. Two small wounds, which police nonetheless described as "significant," had been inflicted on her upper stomach and lower back.
She was immediately taken to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola. Police say the injuries were not life-threatening and that she was doing fine, although she was frightened by the incident. Detectives are still not certain what caused the wounds or why they were inflicted on the girl. Her mother, who was not badly injured during the struggle, was also treated at the hospital.
Meanwhile, detectives are looking to the public for information about the two men. No further description of them had been released as of Monday, but anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Comments about this story? JBurke@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
