The robbery resulted in the jewelry store's owner suffering an injury and an intensive manhunt during the parade.
The Manhattan jewelry heist happened around 2:30 p.m. Two men entered the "Watch Standard Jewelry" store on the eighth floor of a building on 47th Street between 5th and 6th avenues, reports Mail Online. At the time, a second man served as a lookout in the hallway, said police.
According to witnesses, suspects of the Manhattan jewelry heist used masks during the robbery. They also entered the building with large weapons.
"They had guns. Big guns," witness Joseph Meyrov told the Wall Street Journal.
The suspect who posed as a delivery man was wearing a black trench coat, a white button-down shirt with two letters and a dark tie. The lookout buzzed his accomplice inside the jewelry store, according to Deputy Chief William Aubry, head of NYPD detectives' squad in Manhattan.
The second man, who remained in the hallway, reportedly had no weapons with him.
During the Manhattan jewelry heist, police said there were five employees inside the store. The gunman allegedly ordered for the jewelry from a safe to be placed inside a bag, said Chief Aubry.
Police added that the suspects, who possibly carried automatic weapons at the time, hit the owner with his firearm then made ran off carrying an unspecified amount of cash and jewelry.
Police reportedly received a 911 call from a shop employee about the Manhattan jewelry heist in progress. When they reached the store, the 56-year-old owner showed signs of getting struck in the head with the gun, according to Deputy Chief Aubry.
He was treated for a laceration at the Midtown North police precinct and was interviewed by police at the station, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The Manhattan jewelry heist resulted in a massive police search. West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues was completely shut down as police officials said they were mostly concerned about the thousands of spectators enjoying the city's Veterans Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.
NYPD initially thought the suspects to be inside the building; therefore they blocked an entire city block as they went through a floor-by-floor sweep of the building.
At least two police helicopters, a SWAT team, dozens of police vehicles, and K9 team were reportedly involved in catching the suspects of the Manhattan jewelry heist.
According to the Daily Mail, officers from the New York Police Department's elite Emergency Services Unit forced everyone inside the mid-rise building to evacuate. However, they didn't find the suspects of the Manhattan jewelry heist.
"When we came out they were treating the situation like there were hostages in the building," said Tony Jabaly, most of all. "They were pointing their guns at us as we went down the stairs."
The Manhattan jewelry heist unfolded along a one-block stretch that contained more than $24 billion of 2010's annual jewelry sales, according to Michael Grumet, executive director of the 47th Street Business Improvement District. He added that the street is the center of the diamond industry in the U.S.
Little information is available regarding the two suspects, but police have developed descriptions of the men from a surveillance video footage. The gunman had been wearing a black trench coat, is described as African-American, approximately 6 feet tall, 40 to 50 years old and had light-colored slacks and a tweed-colored Kangol hat.
The lookout man during the Manhattan jewelry heist was also described as African-American. He is 30 to 40 years old and he was wearing a red baseball cap, with a black zip-up hoodie, black True Religion jeans and black sneakers during the robbery.
No arrests had been made the night of the crime. However, the public has been warned that the men were believed to be dangerous.
According to police, no hostages were taken.
Grumet said that in his eight years at the Diamond District BID, the Manhattan jewelry heist was a rare security breach in the area. Grumet also recalled one instance of a "break- and-grab."
The Manhattan jewelry heist had West 47th Street closed for hours as police investigated, according to NBC New York. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
