MIDTOWN — Three hulking men wearing black suits and fedoras fired shots inside a luxury watch shop, stuffed dozens of valuable watches in duffel bags and fled out through Midtown on foot, police and witnesses said.
The men, who one witness said weighed about 300 pounds each, walked into the Tourneau store at 510 Madison Ave. near East 53rd Street at roughly 1:30 p.m. and struck up a conversation with a clerk behind the counter, witnesses and sources said.
One of the robbers pulled a semi-automatic handgun and fired a shot into the floor while the other two began smashing display cases with hammers, said Chief of Manhattan Detectives William Aubry at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The men began stuffing watches in duffel bags and the man with the gun fired another shot towards a store clerk, Aubry said.
Then the suspects fled the scene on foot headed east on 53rd Street towards Park Avenue with the stolen goods in tow.
"I was out here talking to a customer. I saw people running. When I looked, I saw all the workers at the [watch] store hiding under the counters," said the operator of an ice cream truck that was parked nearby at the time.
The thieves snatched several dozen Rolex watches, police said, but did not have any more immediate details about what had been stolen. Watches at the shop can cost as much as $242,000.
Police caught up with one of the suspects on Park Avenue and 58th Street and tackled him to the ground, police and witnesses said. They recovered one of the duffel bags and some of the stolen watches.
He was not carrying a gun or a hammer, sources said. The other two men were still at large as of Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The remaining men were described as wearing black suits and black fedora hats. One with a large build was last seen with a duffel bag with the word "Sports" written on it.
The other man was of medium build also and wearing a bow tie.
Passersby were shocked by the brazen daylight robbery.
"You'd think the city would be a safer place," said Deborah Meltsner, 58, who lives nearby on 61st and was walking by the crime scene. "[With] Central Park and muggings that happened recently... [There's] more and more crime. I really believe that."
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
