Police in Concord are investigating what they describe as a "brazen" smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store Sunday.
In the middle of a crowded day at Sun Valley Mall, police say thieves took off with an unknown amount of jewelry from Kay Jewelers. Panels of shattered glass could be seen in the store Sunday afternoon as police began investigating.
"It was five suspects who went in, [a] brazen act, some were armed with sledgehammers and other tools and started smashing the glass," explained Cpl. Chris Blakely with Concord police.
Police say just after 1 p.m. Sunday, five men wearing dark clothing ran into the Kay Jewelers store and started smashing the cases. The thieves were in and out in less than two minutes, police said.
Concord police said the men left the mall in a dark-colored Dodge Charger.
"And these poor employees who are just trying to work hard, make a living, they’re in fear for their safety," said Blakely.
No one was physically hurt, but Blakely said the store employees were frightened and stunned.
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"I just hope for the best [for the employees], you know because, the people working there, because that’s trauma," said Lui Montes of Richmond who was shopping at the mall that day.
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Employees at other stores said that they hid for cover when they started to hear the glass shattering.
“We heard a loud bang and then it repeated itself several times,” Jovan Collins said.
He is the manager at Helzberg Diamonds, and said he and other employees dropped their security gates and took cover.
So did the owner of a persian restaurant.
“They was running with the cover on the face,” Saman Khosoravi, owner of Mazeh, said.
Kay Jewelers was boarded up Sunday afternoon as staff calculated how much of their inventory had been lost. Police are combing through videos, looking for more details on the suspects.
