Suspect’s faulty gun leads to botched Midtown robbery

An attempted robbery suspect had his planned heist go awry after the gun he was using fell apart in his hands as he tried to fire it.

Around 4 p.m. on Sunday, the suspect approached two employees, a man and a woman, at the Rafaello and Co. jewelry store at 22 W. 47th St. in Midtown, police reported. The suspect asked to see a chain inside a display case.

When the male employee went to retrieve a key for the display case from the back of the store, the suspect pulled out a handgun and put it to the woman’s head, police stated. After she screamed, the male employee returned and fought the suspect for possession of the gun.

After the struggle, the suspect retained the handgun, according to police. As he stepped back to fire it, the gun fell apart, after which he fled the store empty-handed.

Police described the suspect as a black man between 20 and 25 years old who was approximately 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants, black shoes and a black baseball hat.

Anyone with information should call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA. The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.