CHELSEA — A diamond-studded gold chain that was snatched at gunpoint sparked this week's wild early-morning shootout on 14th Street, police sources said.
The melee over the $20,000 chain started as a clash between two groups of men in Good Stuff Diner, 109 W. 14th St. near of Sixth Avenue, just after 5 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
The man with the chain was sitting with a group of men in the diner when another group entered and eyed the chain, sources said. A man from the second group went into the diner's bathroom and returned with a gun, then ripped the chain off the victim's neck, sources said.
An argument broke out and the two groups spilled out onto the street, police said. Men from both sides were armed and traded gunfire across 14th Street, sources said.
Police believe someone was likely hurt in the gun battle, but no injuries have been confirmed, sources said.
A man who turned up at St. Barnabas Hospital with a gunshot wound to his torso — initially believed to be a possible victim of the shootout — was injured in an unrelated incident, sources said.
No arrests had been made as of midday Thursday. Police said they were continuing their investigation.
