© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
A new Pokémon card shop in one of the swankier parts of Manhattan was robbed at gunpoint last week with shoppers being held at gunpoint. The thieves made off with at least $110,000 worth of rare Pokémon cards.
The shop which was robbed, Poké Court, is on W. 13th St. between 9th Ave and Washington St. in the Meatpacking District, just a stone’s throw from The Gansevoort, The Standard High Line, and the Whitney Museum.
Pokémon Shop In New York City Robbed At Gunpoint
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For those who aren’t too familiar with the geography of Manhattan, this is a tourist-heavy location with swanky hotels, art galleries, an elevated walking public park, shopping, and plenty of bars and restaurants. The streets are always busy and the Meat Packing District typically attracts a wealthier demographic than average.
None of that deterred the armed robbers from bursting into The Poké Court and holding up customers at gunpoint as they smashed cases and grabbed all of the rarest cards they could find.
Among the items taken in the armed robbery were a 1st Edition Charizard valued at around $15,000. This robbery also comes on the heels of another Pokémon-related robbery on the other side of the country, in California, where burglars made off with over $300,000 in rare Pokémon TCG cards.
Security camera footage from inside The Poké Court shows the robbers pointing guns at terrified customers who where there simply to play the game and/or rip new packs of Pokémon cards.
According to a report in the NYTimes, after the armed robbery there were NYPD officers stationed outside of the shop in the following days. This is typically a heavily monitored part of Manhattan to begin with and for this to happen at 6:45 PM on a Wednesday evening is surreal.
On Instagram, The Poké Court issued a statement following the armed robbery. They thanked everyone for the support they had received in the days following the incident.
At this point, no arrests have been made. This article will be updated with further information as it becomes available in the future.