After the startling Midtown robbery yesterday afternoon in which a man was beaten and robbed of $149,000 in cash on the street, the police are still looking for the suspect. The victim, Seton Ijams, a music management company executive, had just visited a Chase bank, and police believe it may have been an inside job.
Ijams was "jumped" by the gun-wielding robber outside the Starbucks at 120 West 56th Street and then dragged along the sidewalk. Witnesses say the robber hit him with the silver pistol - and then the pistol fired (possibly accidentally) - and then Ijams gave up the bag of cash.
Witnesses were shocked and worried that more shooting would occur. One limo driver said, "Everyone just froze. I thought it was a movie being shot. Nobody did anything. There was no screaming." However, the NY Times says police found no evidence of gunfire.
Besides investigating whether any Chase employees knew of the withdrawal in advance, police will investigate the possibility the suspect suddenly decided to rob Ijams, after seeing him receive the money, and stalked him. Ijams, a vice-president at Columbia Arts Management, which manages classical musicians, opera signers, dance companies and more, regularly withdrew large sums of cash for touring companies' expenses. Police are hoping surveillance cameras captured more details of the crime.
The suspect is described as a black male in his 20s, about 5'9", wearing a black coat and pants. Ijams, who had a head wound, was taken to the hospital in stable condition. His Upper East Side co-op doormen spoke to the Daily News and "described him as an easygoing Mets fan who sometimes donned a tuxedo for music industry events."
