Sunday 7 August 2022 09:04 PM Shocking moment NYC gang robs TWO MILLION dollars worth of jewelry from Bronx ... trends now
Surveillance footage captured the shocking moment four masked thieves made off with more than $2 million worth of jewelry before fleeing in broad daylight.
It shows a black man in a white t-shirt, sunglasses, dark jeans and a baseball cap standing outside the entrance of Rocco's Jewelry in the Bronx just after 2.30pm on Friday before the door opens.
Rather than step inside, however, the man holds the door open as two other black men in masks run inside.
Once they are safely inside the store, one of the men could be seen pulling out a blacksmith hammer he uses to start breaking open glass display cases, as the other man wearing dark clothing, a green baseball cap and white sneakers takes out a full tray of jewelry.
At that point, a third accomplice runs into the store and opens up a red reusable shopping bag that the man in the green cap dumps the contents of the tray into.
Together, they proceed to grab what appears to be for more trays of jewelry as the first man continues to guard the door as people pass by.
After about 45 seconds, the brazen thieves run out the store, fleeing on foot.
Store employees estimate that the thieves made off with $2.15 million worth of merchandise, the New York Daily News reports.
Surveillance footage from Rocco's Jewelry caught the moment a man wearing a white t-shirt, dark pants, sunglasses and a baseball cap held the door open for three thieves after waiting outside for a manager to open the door
Once inside, one of the men could be seen pulling out a blacksmith hammer he uses to start breaking open glass display cases
Rocco's Jewelry, which is just steps away from Fordham University and is down the road from the New York Botanical Garden, remained closed on Saturday as police continued to investigate the theft.
Store employees say a manager buzzed the first man into the store after he waited outside, they told the Daily News, noting that one of the men kept grabbing his pocket as if he had a gun, but never displayed one.
Witnesses said they believe the theft was well-planned out as they described to CBS 2 how the banging of the hammer was so loud, they thought they were hearing gunshots.
'They came in, boom, boom, boom, in and out, gone,' one man said, as another described the event as 'Unfortunate, even though [the store's] probably insured.
'But this type of stuff happens,' he said.
In fact, the brazen mid-afternoon theft follows a string of similar ones at other New York City jewelry stores.
On May 1, the Daily News reports, a man in a black hoodie rushed to the window of M & NP Jewelers elsewhere in the Bronx swinging a sledgehammer.
He then bashed through the plate glass window and grabbed as much jewelry as he could through a hole in the glass, passing what he could to an accomplice holding a bag.
The very next day, a half dozen thieves hit Dorian's Jewelry in Brooklyn using a sledgehammer and a pickaxe to smash through the front window.
