Mount Vernon Gas Station Robber Opens Fire on NYPD

MOUNT VERNON, NY – A brazen gas station robbery escalated into a shooting when suspect Jamaire ROBERTSON, 28, opened fire on New York City Police Department officers in the early hours of August 29, 2025. Robertson, a Jamaican national, is now facing serious federal charges after allegedly holding up a gas station attendant at gunpoint and then attempting to evade capture by shooting at responding officers.

According to a complaint unsealed Saturday, ROBERTSON and an accomplice, identified as “Suspect-2,” robbed the gas station on Mount Vernon Avenue at approximately 5:29 a.m., making off with between $500 and $600 in cash and the attendant’s wallet. Both suspects brandished handguns during the commission of the crime, captured clearly on the station’s surveillance system.

The pursuit quickly turned dangerous. After fleeing the scene, ROBERTSON ditched his partner and sought refuge on a residential street bordering the Bronx. When NYPD officers, alerted to the robbery, attempted to apprehend him, he allegedly opened fire with his handgun before fleeing on foot. He discarded the weapon and a black hooded sweatshirt at the scene.

“As alleged, Jamaire Robertson committed a terrifying gunpoint robbery of a gas station attendant and then, minutes later, shot at police officers trying to stop him,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Those willing to use guns and violence to terrorize our community and put law enforcement lives at risk should expect to face serious consequences.”

Federal investigators pieced together a damning trail of evidence. Security footage from ROBERTSON’s Bronx apartment building showed him returning home in his underwear and a t-shirt around 6:25 a.m., and later disposing of additional clothing down the building’s trash chute. He was arrested the same day and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine A. Parker, who ordered him detained.

ROBERTSON is charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and Hobbs Act robbery, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He also faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for using and carrying a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, to be served consecutively. The FBI, through its “Operation Summer Heat,” is actively investigating and urges anyone with information to contact them via their toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov. FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia emphasized the reckless endangerment of both the gas station attendant and law enforcement officers by ROBERTSON’s alleged actions.