York Regional Police are looking for five suspects after a smash-and-grab robbery caught on camera at a Richmond Hill jewelry store on Monday afternoon.
A cellphone video of the robbery at Hillcrest Mall circulating on social media shows four masked men smashing several display cases inside the Peoples Jewellers store. Police say the robbery happened around 4 p.m.
At one point, one of the thieves appears to assault a store employee as he looks through the safe.
Const. James Dickson, spokesperson for York Regional Police, says a woman suffered minor injuries in what he called an “incredibly brazen” robbery.
“This woman was fortunately not seriously injured, but obviously very shaken up, and she was dragged behind the counter,” Dickson said.
Dickson said the employee was able to get away and join other employees in a back room.
Police said the masked men then ran out of the mall to the parking lot, where a driver was waiting in a getaway vehicle. The black Nissan Maxima was stolen from Toronto and has since been recovered, police said.
Lornes Katami, who works at a beauty salon next to the jewelry store, said he watched firsthand as the thieves made off with thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.
“First, we thought it was like shooting, because the banging on the glass was so loud,” Katami said.
“They were hitting very hard, and then they grab the stuff and they just ran away.”
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the robbery or who may have cellphone or dashboard camera video to come forward.