Editor’s Note
This article describes a brazen armed robbery at a jewelry store in California. The text has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Surveillance footage from Olivia’s Fine Jewelery store in Madera, California, captured the moment a group of masked robbers stormed the store to raid the jewelery cases. Around five thieves dressed in black entered the store at 7pm on Thursday evening, just seconds after other customers left. They leapt over counters and grabbed what they could while one stood by the door as a look out. The employee who had been behind the counter fled to safety. Some of the robbers appeared to be holding weapons possibly used to break through the protective glass.
However, the group of brazen criminals weren’t expecting the owner of the store to fight back. Within seconds he emerged from the back of the store pointing his gun at the unsuspecting robbers. He fired three to five shots at the group who quickly fled the store. The furious owner then chased the group outside. The robbers fell out of the door and onto the sidewalk before getting up and running again. The owner stood guard at the entrance to his store, firing a couple more warning shots as the group disappeared into the night.
Officials from the Madera Police Department have confirmed that no one was shot in the incident. The thieves managed to take $170,000 worth of high-value jewelery.
He explained that an investigation into what took place is ongoing with cops having retrieved the getaway car that the group ditched outside the city limits. Short said that it does not appear to be the first time the robbers had carried out such a crime and that it was not a spur of the moment smash-and-grab.
