Gone in 90 seconds: robbers steal US$2 million in jewellery from Seattle store
Police said they responded to the heist, but the hammer-wielding suspects had already fled in a getaway car
Smash-and-grab thieves in Seattle made off with an estimated US$2 million in diamonds, luxury watches, gold and other items in a daring midday jewellery store robbery that took just about 90 seconds, police in the US city said on Friday.
Video from the West Seattle store’s surveillance cameras shows four masked suspects shattering the locked glass front door with hammers and then ransacking six display cases on Thursday.
One display held around US$750,000 worth of Rolex watches, police said in a statement, and another had an emerald necklace valued at US$125,000.
A masked suspect threatened workers with bear spray and a taser, police said, but no one was injured.
“We’re pretty shook up as a staff,” Josh Menashe, vice-president of the family-owned store, said by phone on Friday. “We’re gonna be closed for a while.”
Menashe said workers finished cleaning up the broken glass and were working on a full inventory of the losses.