Police released surveillance video that shows one of the suspects being sought in connection with a brazen mid-day jewelry store heist in midtown.
Newly released surveillance video shows one of the suspects being sought in connection with Tuesday's brazen mid-day jewelry store heist in midtown.
The video released by police Wednesday shows one of the two suspects, wearing a long coat and a hat, walking up to and passing a storefront, then turning around and peering into the window display before he walks back down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. A different camera angle shows the man moving quickly through a bustling Diamond District plaza.
Business owners in the area remained on a edge a day after the heist brought massive police and SWAT presence.
"There were cops everywhere," said diamond wholesaler Moshe Haimoff. "It was chaos. Shut down the whole street."
Haimoff said there are risks that come with being in the business of dealing in such pricey pieces, and he and his neighbors are now taking more precautions. It now takes three different ID card swipes to get into his lobby in addition to the panic alarms already installed.
"It's kind of scary, to be honest with you," he said.
David Yusupoe, who owns the Coin Shop across the street from the targeted jewelry shop, said, "I used to leave my door open just to come in. Now I make sure it's locked. You can't get in there."
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The suspect seen in the surveillance video is believed to have been the lookout as another suspect, this one posing as a delivery worker, who was buzzed into Watch Standard Jewelry on the eighth floor of a building on 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
The fake delivery worker barged into the store and demanded the employees open the safe and give him the contents. Police say there were four employees in the shop at the time and they were complying. Then a fifth worker walked in and the fake delivery worker whacked him in the head with his gun, causing a minor laceration, officials said. Both suspects then fled.
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.
Anyone with information about the heist is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
-- Marc Santia contributed to this report.
