Nov 16, 2008 8:25 am US/Eastern
Shooting At NYC's Waldorf-Astoria; Guard Wounded
Security Officer, Shot In Chest, Critical But Stable; Suspect In Custody After Attempted Robbery
Carolyn Costello, CBS 2
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
-
-
Gunfire erupted in the lobby of the posh Waldorf-Astoria Hotel during a robbery attempt Saturday, wounding a security guard and sending guests diving for cover. The guard was shot in the chest but was expected to survive, and a suspect was in custody, poli
CBS
Gunfire erupted in the storied Waldorf-Astoria hotel during a brazen robbery attempt Saturday at a lobby jewelry store, wounding a security guard and sending guests diving for cover.
The 54-year-old guard, Gregory J. Boyle, was shot in the chest but was expected to survive, and a suspect was in custody, police said. Charges were pending.
Hotel guest Christine Cataldo said she was looking at a display of engagement rings near the entrance to the store, Cellini Jewelers, when she heard the first shot.
"It sounded like a bomb. One big boom. And then people started running," said Cataldo, of East Moriches on Long Island. "I looked up, and I saw a man in a suit with silver hair grabbing another guy."
The mayhem began when the 20-year-old suspect, identified as 20-year-old Rafael Rabinovich-Ardans, wearing a black track suit, pulled out a gun in the jewelry store. He used the weapon to smash two display cases full of expensive rings and necklaces, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because detectives were still investigating.
"I heard some pops, [then] people screamed, 'gunshots, robbery, get out,' and we ran," hotel guest Matt Luba, of Old Tappan, NJ, said.
Boyle, a retired New York Police Department detective, confronted the man. About three gunshots rang out as the two wrestled and fell to the floor, though it wasn't clear who fired, the official said. Both were armed.
One bullet hit Boyle in the left upper chest, the official said.
Another hotel employee then tackled the suspect, the police official said.
The suspect's gun went off again as they grappled, but that bullet apparently struck no one. Hotel security staffers arrived and took the suspect into custody.
Witness Jeff Johnston of Raleigh, N.C., said he was near the store when chaos broke out.
"All of a sudden people were running and hiding behind hotel furniture," he said.
The suspect was not identified. Boyle was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in stable condition, police said. He retired from the NYPD in December 2002, after a 21-year career.
A telephone message left with the hotel was not immediately returned.
"We felt really safe and we've been talking to people who've assured us this city is safe," Melanie Truman, a guest visiting from the UK, said. "Then we come back and find this."
The Waldorf-Astoria was the world's largest hotel when it opened in its current Park Avenue spot in 1931, according to the hotel's Web site. It had previously been on Fifth Avenue.
The Art Deco hotel quickly became synonymous with luxury and part of popular culture, appearing in the 1945 Ginger Rogers film "Weekend at the Waldorf" and garnering a mention in the classic Cole Porter song "You're the Top."
Cellini Jewelers, a high-end boutique that specializes in luxury watches adorned with diamonds and gold, opened in the hotel lobby in 1977.
No one answered the phone at the store Saturday. A saleswoman at Cellini's sister store in Manhattan said she hadn't heard from the managers at the location where the shooting took place and had no additional information.
Stay with wcbstv.com for updates on this developing story.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Terrier Mugged In Brooklyn 2 mins ago
BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT 26 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments