NYC Diamond District heist could be inside job, source says

NEW YORK -- Investigators are looking into the possibility of an inside job in their probe of a brazen daytime robbery at a jewelry store in New York City's Diamond District, a source tells CBS New York.

An employee of the Watch Standard jewelry store, which was robbed at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, has a criminal record, and also had some financial troubles, the source said.

The search for the men who committed the mid-afternoon gunpoint robbery continued Wednesday.

NYPD Deputy Chief William Aubry said a man posing as a courier was buzzed into the store Tuesday, while a second man stood outside as a lookout.

"He had a white button down shirt with a dark tie. He walks up the stairs to the eighth floor and he had said he had two letters that had to be delivered," Aubry said.

But once inside, investigators said he pulled a gun on four employees and demanded they empty the store's safe. The owner then walked in and the suspect allegedly pistol-whipped him, police said.

Police sources believe the duo then made their way down the building stairs and escaped into the crowd, CBS New York reports.

Police locked down the area and later ordered people to evacuate, said Diamond District worker Yankel Ablonsky.

"They say there's a robbery and the guys are loose," Ablonsky said. "Basically asked everyone to back up. They want to protect the civilians."

With millions in jewels on display, there are countless cameras in the area, including one operated by police just outside the building.

Surveillance images of the suspects show a man in his 40s or 50s, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a dark trench coat, light-colored slacks and a tweed-colored Kangol hat.

The second suspect is described by police as a man in his 30s or 40s, wearing a red baseball cap, True Religion jeans, a black zipper hoodie and black sneakers.