NEW YORK, May 30: A serial robber is terrorising New York City taxi drivers, having held up eight of them at gunpoint in less than two weeks, police say. Spokesmen for the police and taxi drivers say they cannot remember the last time one suspect has repeatedly targeted cabbies and said drivers may have let their guard down after years of declining crime rates.

The latest incident was on Tuesday night when a large muscular man pulled a gun on a driver in midtown Manhattan, took money and fled on foot.

A man fitting that description is also blamed for seven similar incidents in Manhattan since May 17. Many have taken place shortly before or after midnight, when police patrols change shifts.

“This guy knows what he's doing. He usually strikes when there is a police shift change, which means that there are less cops in the street,” said Fernando Mateo, spokesman for the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.

The taxi federation and the crime-fighting group Guardian Angels have been raising awareness and advising drivers on prevention techniques. Police declined to reveal what they are doing do catch the suspect.

—Reuters