Men armed with hammers rob Michael Hill’s store in Oakland’s Northwest Shopping Center

In a crowded Oakland shopping center, shoppers and employees watched in horror as two men armed with hammers steal a jewelry store and forge their way onto display bags.

The burglary and robbery happened at Michael Hill Jewelers at NorthWest Shopping Center at 9.40 am this morning.

Thieves smashed glass display counters and stole an unknown amount of jewelry before fleeing the mall.

A shopper at the mall at the same time as the robbery said he was feeling “a bit disrupted” after witnessing the assault and grabbing.

Riverhead resident Hayden Bellett said he saw the two men, all in black with hoods, approaching Michael Hill’s store shortly after 9:30 a.m.

“I saw the hammers in their hands and really sank as it was happening.”

Pelett said he took out his phone to try to film the accident for evidence, but the recording was unsuccessful.

“I closed my eyes with one of the guys while he was smashing the locker and I got a little anxious, but it was really fast, they just got out of there and didn’t threaten anyone.”

One of the witnesses said that there was no sign of the security guards when the men rushed into the store and “smashed, grabbed and rushed.”

“It was fast, and it looks like they have an escape car waiting for them.

“I think they escaped with a few things from the scene.”

Paljit Kaur, a worker at Allure Beauty Salon, said she saw two men with their faces covered running with hammers.

She said, “They were old men.”

“It was so scary, they ran and smashed the boxes, where the expensive things go.

“My heart is still beating fast. It’s scary, and the first time in my life I saw this.”

A police spokesman said that the police were at the scene of the accident and were conducting follow-up investigations to identify the perpetrators and locate them.