Burglars Pull Off Dramatic NYC Bank Heist Through Hole in Roof

— -- The New York Police Department is investigating how burglars stole nearly $300,000 from a bank in Brooklyn through a hole in the ceiling -- completely undetected.

HSBC Bank on 13th Avenue in Brooklyn closes on Friday afternoons until Monday every week because the institution is in an Orthodox Jewish community where they observe Shabbat.

But while the bank was closed last weekend, an employee found that the major burglary had occurred.

Related Stories

Man kills wife, 3 kids in mass shooting: Police

• Apr 23, 12:35 PM

Trump, NY AG resolve dispute over $175M bond

• Apr 22, 12:14 PM

OJ Simpson dies at 76

• Apr 11, 6:32 PM

"We can confirm that an incident has taken place and HSBC is cooperating fully with the authorities," a spokesman for HSBC told ABC News in a statement.

The NYPD said the burglars took approximately $280,000 in cash from the vault, plus the contents of several safety deposit boxes. The department described the "access in the ceiling" and said in a statement that an employee, "...opened the bank and discovered there was a hole in the ceiling of the vault, which leads to the outside roof of the building." The case is still under investigation.

The burglars were not caught on surveillance camera and no alarm sounded, according to WABC-TV in New York. They apparently cut holes in a chain link fence and used a ladder to get to the roof, where they opened a hatch that led to the vault.