Elderly Asian woman attacked in NYC jewelry heist

An elderly Asian American woman was attacked during a $500,000 jewelry heist in New York City.

According to New York Post, the heist occurred on Wednesday, February 22, at a jewelry store called Diamond Collect in Queens. Store owner Eva Chen said her mother, Yuchi Lin, 79, had just flown in from Taiwan to visit. Lin agreed to watch the shop briefly for her daughter.

Around 2:30 p.m., surveillance footage shows a robber dressed as a fake Amazon delivery driver attempting to get Lin to open the door.

“My mom didn’t open the door because, for security reasons, we usually ask the delivery man to drop off at the front door. My mom thought the guy left,” Chen told NBC New York.

The fake delivery driver hid and waited for Lin to open the door to retrieve the package. When she opened the door, he pushed his way in with his accomplice.

“My mom said they were hammering the glass, and then they pushed her down,” Chen told the New York Post. “She couldn’t even walk herself. They pushed her down and dragged her to the office because they wanted her to open the safe.”

Lin did not have the key to the safe so the pair could not open it. Police say they did take around $500,000 worth of stolen goods.

Authorities are still searching for the two suspects. Amazon told NBC New York in a statement that they have not confirmed whether one of the robbers worked for Amazon. They are “coordinating with law enforcement as they investigate.”

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