Police are searching for a group of jewelry thieves who broke into a store in a brazen incident on the outskirts of Montreal on Sunday night, smashing a vehicle through the front window.
A shocking video shared with Global News by the owners of Famous Jewellers on Rue De Liege captured the moment a vehicle reversed at speed into their store, with several suspects jumping out, seemingly armed and running to its display cases.
The security footage shows the front of the store fly inwards, as the rear lights of a large SUV can be seen. The owner runs out toward the vehicle shouting as at least three masked figures come into the damaged store.
One of the figures wields what appears to be a large hammer, while the owner tries to battle the other two. Another one of the suspects also appears to have a weapon in their hand, and eventually, one of the thieves goes over to the glass display cases and succeeds in shattering some of them.
The video ends with the suspects appearing to leave, at least temporarily, and the front of the store in ruins.
Police confirmed to Global News that they were called to the store on Rue De Liege around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Officers confirmed an SUV was deliberately driven through the window of Famous Jewellery and stole items from the shop before fleeing the scene.
Police said that a 27-year-old employee from the store was injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made yet in the investigation.
The robbery is the latest in a rash of jewelry store robberies across the country, particularly in eastern Canada and Ontario.
In the Greater Toronto Area, for example, several police forces have reported a year-on-year uptick in cases of robberies where thieves rush into stores, smash glass cases and run away with whatever they can handle.
In Peel Region, police say they have seen 37 robberies at jewelry stores so far this year, which is more than triple the number in 2023 when there were 10, and in 2022 when 13 occurred.
It is a similar story in Toronto as there has been a 105-per cent increase in the number of smash-and-grab robberies in 2024, compared to the entirety of 2023.
— with files from Global News’ Kevin Nielson