SWAT teams swarmed a midtown street Tuesday after a pair of men robbed a Diamond District jewelry store, pistol-whipping the shop's co-owner and forcing him to empty a safe in the brazen broad-daylight heist, officials say.
A man posing as a delivery worker entered Watch Standard Jewelry on the eighth floor of a building on 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues late Tuesday afternoon, while a second man acted as a lookout in the hallway, according to police.
The fake delivery worker pistol-whipped the co-owner inside and forced him to open a safe and empty its contents, police said.
There were four employees in the shop at the time, and when a fifth worker walked in, the suspects left, according to police.
When police first arrived, it was not clear if the suspects were hiding in the building or if they had left the area, the NYPD said. SWAT teams and emergency service units surrounded the building and cleared each floor but were unable to find the culprits.
Other people in the building at 23 West 47th St. were escorted out as police searched.
A man who works on the second floor of the building said police initially ordered everyone to stay in their offices.
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"Then we heard screaming from the SWAT team to leave the offices, and so we came down," said Tony Jabaly.
"I've never experienced something like this," he said.
The co-owner was not hospitalized and was interviewed by police at the Midtown North Precinct station.
The first suspect was wearing a long black trench coat with sunglasses and a black cap, appeared to be in his 40s and was about 6 feet tall, police said. The second suspect, in his 30s, was wearing a black zip-up hoodie, black pants and black sneakers. Images of the men (above) were captured on surveillance footage around the time of the heist.
West 47th Street was closed for hours while police investigated.
Anyone with information about the heist is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
