Three robbers fired four shots in a Mongkok shopping centre as they fled with 85 watches worth $2.19 million yesterday.
Detectives believe the trio also could be responsible for shooting dead a woman three years ago and wounding another three people during a holdup in Central.
In both raids, three Cantonese-speaking men armed with 7.62 mm pistols robbed watch shops and fired during their getaway.
Yesterday, the bandits burst into the ground-floor Oriental Watch Company store in the Pioneer Centre at 750-758 Nathan Road as it opened for business at about 10.50 am.
The gunmen - two of whom wore sunglasses - drew their pistols and threatened four staff members. They escaped with 85 watches, mainly Rolexes. Detectives said the bandits escaped by firing indiscriminately in the concourse.
Chief Inspector Simon So Kam-shing of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, which is investigating the earlier holdup, confirmed their interest in the new case.
