A New York couple visiting Washington, D.C., were robbed at gunpoint Sunday for their Canada Goose jackets.
Two men allegedly wearing ski masks approached Julian and Sheila Kaufman and their son in broad daylight, demanding their expensive winter coats, NBC4 Washington reported. When purchased new, Canada Goose coats can cost upwards of $1,700, according to the brand’s website.
“All of a sudden someone’s like, ‘Gimmie your coat! Gimmie your coat!’ And I thought, is this a joke?” Sheila told NBC4 reporter Derrick Ward. “And then he waved a gun by me and said ‘Gimmie your coat!’,” she continued. “And so I took it off and gave it to him.” (RELATED: Washington, D.C., Tried A New Policing Trick To Curb Violent Crime – And Quickly Got Results)
People in #WashingtonDC who wear #CanadaGoose jackets are targets 🥺
If the value of the brand is in the materials can the logo be on the inside OR can you put trackable sensors on the jackets?🤞🏼https://t.co/Kv2F7HZmkB
— Dipka Bhambhani (@Dipkabh) February 5, 2023
This isn’t the first reported incident of an individual getting robbed of their Canada Goose jacket. According to NBC4, five others have been robbed, either by knife or gunpoint, since December of 2022.
Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Patrick Loftus encouraged victims to comply with the criminals, stating “property is not worth your life.”
Julian Kaufman told NBC4 that he is an attorney from the south Bronx, and believed he would be well-equipped to handle such a situation. (RELATED: Suspect Arrested For Armed Robbery At Caesar’s Palace. Other Casino Heists Remain Unsolved)
After Sheila handed over her winter coat, a second gunman approached him and demanded he hand over his Canada Goose jacket, as well, NBC4 reported. The suspect reportedly began counting down from five, but Julian handed over his jacket before the gunman’s countdown ended.
“They seemed to know what they were doing,” he said to the news outlet. “I’m sure they’d done it before, they didn’t seem like rookies.”
Neither Sheila or Julian were injured, according to NBC4.
Authorities have collected Ring camera footage that recorded the two suspects entering a silver Hyundai Elantra and fleeing north, however no arrest has been made as of Tuesday.