NYC jeweler frozen in fear as thieves steal $2M in jewelry in less than a minute: 'Very heartbreaking'
Facets Jewelry owner Irina Sulay said she wishes there was more policing as crime in New York City soars
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One New York City jewelry designer is calling for more policing at her high-end store after thieves stole $2 million worth of jewelry during a smash-and-grab robbery in broad daylight.
Facets Jewelry owner Irina Sulay, who was in her Brooklyn store during the incident, joined "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday to recall the horrifying event and the need for additional law enforcement amid the crime surge.
"It's very difficult to be a female-run business in such a male-dominated and dominant field," Sulay told co-host Todd Piro. "Everybody talks about this guy that they have as a jeweler. For us, it's me, myself… and I like to consider myself not a jeweler, someone who's a designer. It's a different kind of niche, but it's very difficult because we don't have backup."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thieves are seen on surveillance footage stealing $2 million in jewelry from Facets Fine Handcrafted Jewelry in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.
"I wish that there was police patrolling undercover, like standing outside of the store at least a couple of times a day," she continued. "I just think that it's very complicated, and especially now that I have to pick up the pieces and basically start again, it's just really unfortunate and very heartbreaking."
Sulay said Sundays are for clients with appointments only, but when the perpetrators rang the doorbell on that day, she wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The masked thief at the moment looked like a regular person," Sulay said. "He just rang the doorbell. I buzzed him in, and he held the door open for his friends. And two more approached sort of… sprinting inside the shop, and my colleague, myself, and the client that was in the shop, we all really just stood there quietly, like just trying to read like, what's happening."
Masked thieves seen inside Fine Handcrafted Jewelry in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.
"We didn't really quite understand yet what was going to happen until he pulled out a hammer from his pocket and said, this is how you use a hammer, and started smashing the glass cases," she continued.
Sulay claimed one of the suspects threatened to shoot her as her client and employee pondered what to do.
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The thieves reportedly stole millions of dollars worth of jewels in a matter of 38 seconds, and the entire incident was all caught on the store's surveillance footage.
"I think my biggest fear at that time was this could get really ugly," she recalled. "Are they going to… hold us hostage? Like what is actually going to happen? This is basically broad daylight. It's a Sunday. It's a family day… It's very unfortunate."
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