NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The managers of at least two stores on Easton Avenue experienced some very unexpected challenges in the span of three hours on February 9.

“At approximately 3:59 pm officers responded to 70 Easton Avenue (Scissorhands Barber Shop) to investigate a disturbance,” said Captain Joseph T. Miller in response to a question, and a subsequent public records request.

“Upon their arrival they learned that a former employee had entered the barber shop demanding money which was owed to him,” Miller continued.  “The former employee assaulted a current employee and took cash from the register. The former employee then fled the area. This investigation is ongoing.”

That incident did not generate a Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) crime alert, but nearly three hours later, another event went down just one block away that did.

Both incidents are being investigated by the New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD).

According to the university-wide alert, the victim was affiliated with Rutgers, and was managing the Amsterdam Smokeshop at 6:50pm on February 9, “when a male entered and, after inquiring about a purchase, displayed a handgun and demanded cash.”

“The victim refused and the male then fled in an unknown direction,” reads the RUPD alert.  “The victim was not physically injured as a result of this incident.”

According to the alert, the perpetrator was described as “a tall black male, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, green vest, red undershirt, blue jeans, and a red American flag bandana covering his face.”

The NBPD is actively investigating both incidents and asks that anyone with information, or who may have been in the area at the time, contact their Detective Bureau at 732-745-5217.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.