CCTV footage shows the moment more than a dozen masked robbers carried out a smash-and-grab raid at a jewellery store in California – with the store’s 88-year-old owner knocked to the ground.
The pensioner was taken to hospital where doctors said he also suffered a stroke during the ordeal, his niece told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
The footage shows a grey Ford Explorer SUV pull up outside the Kim Hung Jewelry store in San Jose on Friday afternoon before reversing through the glass front of the store at speed.
The vehicle then drives out of the shop and stops nearby before three more cars pull up outside.
At least 15 suspects, wearing hoodies and masks, then get out of all four of the vehicles before running inside the store and stealing jewellery after using pick axes and other tools to smash glass displays.
Police said at least one of the suspects had a firearm.
In the footage, one of the men is seen pushing the elderly store owner to the ground before another robber steps over him as they continue the raid.
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San Jose police have said the suspects fled in multiple vehicles before officers arrived at the scene and they are yet to identify any suspects.
The store owner’s niece said she found him outside the shop after the raid with open wounds caused by shattered glass.
She added he was released from hospital on Sunday but may never return to work.
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Edward Escobar, founder of the Coalition for Community Engagement, said at a news conference on Sunday that such robberies have “become a regular occurrence” in the state.
However, the latest California Department of Justice data show robberies were down last year compared with 2023 and burglary and other property crimes were at a nine-year low last year, NBC News reports.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, said the governor’s office wishes the store’s owner a speedy recovery.
