Police in Atlanta have been searching for a bold band of burglars who smashed a jewelry store case and stole more than $900,000 worth of watches in about 30 seconds at a mall store.
The entire heist was captured by security cameras, and the footage has been released by the Atlanta Police Department, which has appealed to the public to help it identify the thieves.
The video shows five men enter Mayors Jewelry Store at Lenox Square in Buckhead. Four of the men were wearing hats. As they approached a jewelry case, one man pulled a hammer out of his pants and at least one other man also had a hammer. They quickly smashed the case and glass shards flew everywhere.
Despite all of the broken glass, the men speedily put their hands into the case and scooped up at least 20 watches, most of which were Rolexes, according to ABC’s Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.
The men then ran out of the store. An employee of another jewelry store in the mall, Blake Cozart, said he called 911 when he saw the broken glass and people running.
Cozart told WSB-TV that there had been an increased security presence at the mall since the robbery, but he didn’t think it was enough, especially considering the mall’s track record.
“I think it needs to be beefed up a little more because [there's been] a couple that’s happened in a few years … Omega, David Yurman, Mayors … they’ve all been hit,” Cozart told WSB-TV.
One customer who watched the video called it “insanely organized and scary at the same time,” according to WSB-TV.
