A jewelry store in San Jose, CA, was robbed Monday afternoon by a group of eight to 10 people.
The culprits used hammers to smash display cases at Credit Jewelers, NBC Bay Area reports. They made off with several jewelry items.
Steve Aponte of the San Jose Police Department described the crime as a “takeover robbery.”
“These individuals actually forced their way into the store,” he said. “And by saying takeover robbery, they demanded everybody to get on the ground.”
No arrests have been made so far.
Large groups of robbers have been carrying out smash-and-grab robberies at jewelry stores and other businesses in several states in recent months. In one case, about 80 people ransacked a San Francisco Nordstrom, assaulting employees and making off with merchandise in cars waiting outside.
The Jewelers’ Security Alliance this week stated that it is seeing “a disturbing upsurge of smash and grab robberies in multiple states, including 23 such robberies in California alone since May of 2021.” A JSA crime alert contained reports of recent smash-and-grab cases in Maryland, Colorado, New Mexico and California.”