Masked bandit ran rings around police officers in beauty shop

A raccoon broke into a beauty shop in the Bronx, New York, on Saturday and ran rings around the police officers who coax it into a cage and zap it with a tranquilizer gun. The bushy-tailed bandit “was up in the ceiling,” said Cho Oh, 72. who works at Genesis Beauty Supply in Wakefield.



When Oh opened the shop at 8:30am, she noticed that chunks of ceiling and wigs were on the ground. Then she looked up, saw the critter and dialed 911. Four officers, armed with a trap lined with marshmallows and a tranquilizer guns, showed up.

One officer fired into “Lil Rocky’s’’ back, but the tranquilizer fluid didn’t leave the dart. Another officer, wielding a catch pole, tried to catch the furry menace but slipped and tumbled into one of his colleagues. Officers finally wrestled it into the cage. But the door malfunctioned, and “Rocky’’ scampered down an aisle to the front windows, where delighted passers-by gathered to watch the show.



The raccoon finally was snared by the catch pole and pushed back into the cage. This time, the officers managed to lock the door with zip ties. “Rocky’s’’ fate was not clear. An official with Animal Care and Control said renegade raccoons are typically euthanised so that their brains can be tested for rabies.