Woman Robbed At Orange Shopping Plaza: PD

ORANGE, CT — A woman was robbed at the 560 Boston Post Road plaza Thursday evening by a group of suspected catalytic converter thieves, according to police. The plaza houses Trader Joe's, TJ Maxx and several other popular stores.

The 22-year-old woman was on the phone with her mother and returning to her car before 5:40 p.m. when shenoticed a red sedan with multiple masked male occupants. One of the males got out and began cutting the catalytic converter off a nearby vehicle, police said.

The woman noticed the suspicious activity. One of the suspects grabbed the phone and accused her of trying to photograph them, police said. He and another one of the suspects from the vehicle threatened to shoot her.

All the suspects got in their vehicle and sped off toward West Haven on the Boston Post Road. Later on, the mother got a threatening call from one of the suspects who used her daughter's phone, police said. The phone was recovered a short distance from the crime scene.

The woman was not physically injured.

Police are investigating the incident and ask anyone who witnessed the incident to call them at 203-891-2138. Orange police and other nearby agencies are investigating similar incidents.

Note: The story has been corrected. The woman wasn’t with her mother at the time of the incident, but was on the phone with her