What the--? An Upper West Side mom and her 3-month-old son Jackson were mugged in broad daylight, at gunpoint, in the center of Central Park? (10AM, near the Bandshell) The guy waves a gun in the kid's face and takes the mom's rings--her 5-carat rock and a Tiffany engagement band. Don't worry, it's cubic zirconia, a placeholder until the baby weight comes off. [The kid? He's fine. Didn't even blink, partly because the mugger was beyond his 3-foot focal range.]
Says Grandpa on Park, who's seen many thugs over the years as a newsman at Fox 5, "The thug broke the code of thugdom by pointing a gun at a 3-month-old baby." "How low could someone stoop," asks her husband (unusually, also named) Jackson, who had originally presented the ring in a fondue pot [a detail unmentioned in the couple's NYT wedding announcement].
For her part, Mom tells NY Newsday that "she worries for other young mothers who stroll with their young babies in trendy Bugaboo strollers, wearing large diamond rings on their fingers. "We're the perfect targets."
Used to be a woman'd never push her $700 stroller alone in the Park, she'd never wear her rings, and there was only one kid named Jackson in the whole class. Those days are long gone, my friend.
Gothamist has a great roundup of all the reports. [gothamist]
Somehow, this whole thing seems like a great ad for STROLLERCIZEÆ.
Man, That is messed up!
I guess I am going to have to enroll my 8-month-old girl in Judo lessons now.....
The new money making idea.....shoulder holsters for toddlers. "For the kid who packs heat"
CZ or not 5 carats draws a lot of attention and the mugger probably didn't know the thing wasn't GI certified, he just saw an "easy" mark. Unfortunately moms can be targets since our attention is usually on the baby and sometimes our normal guards might be down, afterall you'd think even a mugger would have enough morals to leave a mom and baby alone, but apparently not. Lesson to moms (or your wives) turn the stone around so it faces your palm or leave it at home for walks in the park. Besides then you can slap anyone who messes with you a la "True Lies" Jamie Lee Curtis...just kidding.