Gentrification may have been the catalyst behind an alleged Brooklyn robbery.
The New York Daily News reports that Precious Parker, 30, and Sabrina James, 23, are accused of squatting in an apartment in the Flatbush neighborhood after kicking out three tenants.
The roommates -- two men and one woman -- were held at gunpoint before Parker and James allegedly forced them out on Thursday.
An unidentified law enforcement source told the Daily News that the crime may have been racially motivated,
One of the suspects allegedly said she didn't like “that white people were moving into the area," according to the source. But the races of the suspects and alleged victims have not been confirmed.
PIX 11 reports that Parker and James were arrested on Saturday and charged with robbery, burglary, unlawful imprisonment, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
The tide of wealthier newcomers, often white, who've swept into neighborhoods traditionally populated by lower-income or minority residents is often a source of conflict across New York.
Between 2000 and 2012, rents surged in New York state by 18 percent, and rents crept into above "affordable" levels for more than 50 percent of rental households, according to a state report.
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