Overview

• About 18 masked suspects in five vehicles used sledgehammers and pickaxes to attack Al-Amira Jewelry before fleeing when the owner fired a warning shot.
• The store’s bulletproof glass and reinforced doors held firm, with only a single bullet lodged in the front window.
• Police have identified one license plate from the getaway vehicles and no arrests have been made while detectives follow other leads.
• This is the latest in a wave of coordinated smash-and-grab attempts that hit Southern California jewelry stores over the past three months.
• Jewelry retailers across the region have adopted bulletproof fixtures and armed deterrents in response to escalating organized retail crime.