WARNING: This story contains footage of a violent robbery.
Just days after Gaganjeet Singh urged Montreal police to step up patrols on de Liège Street, where his jewelry store is located, his worst fears came true.
Around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, a car plowed into Famous Jewellers in Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood and a group of thieves made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Singh was injured during the incident as he tried to fend off the robbers.
Police say they believe the car crash was deliberate to facilitate the robbery. They responded to the scene after the store’s alarm went off.
Singh says the timing of the robbery couldn’t have been worse.
“We are just putting … every effort in this season, and this happens. It’s very hard for us,” he said, adding he was scared when the thieves broke in.
Surveillance footage from the break-in shows a car backing through the storefront and three masked individuals storming the shop. Screaming from other employees can be heard as Singh attempts to fight off the thieves, sustaining injuries to his upper body in the process. He was later taken to hospital.
Security footage captures the moment a car reversed into Famous Jewellers, allowing three masked robbers to storm the store. The thieves can be seen engaging in a physical altercation with the owner, smashing display cases and fleeing the scene with thousands of dollars worth of gold.
The thieves can be seen smashing display cases with various weapons and shoving merchandise into bags. Videos of the heist have been circulating online since Saturday.
That evening, Singh says the thieves stole between $600,000 and $700,000 worth of gold.
And this isn’t the first time the store has been robbed. Singh says his shop was burglarized back in January and that the fear has lingered ever since.
“Even when we are sleeping, we are just thinking that somebody’s at the store … it’s very hard,” said Singh.
Now, he’s hoping police will increase patrols.
“We are not safe,” he said. “We need some security.”
Police to up patrols after other recent break-ins
Saturday’s heist marks the second brazen store robbery in Montreal in the past week. On Dec. 17, thieves broke into a boutique in Montreal’s Mile End and about $8,000 worth of goods was stolen. A jewellery store a few doors down also had a recent break-in.
Montreal police said they have not noticed a serious uptick in jewelry store thefts but continue to be on the lookout.
Sabrina Gauthier, a spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), says the kind of theft involving a car, like the one in Singh’s case, is “very rare.”
If it happens, she advises the public to not engage with burglars.
“I know that the [owner] tried maybe to protect his store or the jewelry,” Gauthier said of Singh’s case, “but we would suggest you to just be careful when you’re in front of any suspect. They could be maybe armed.”
She noted that police are waiting on an investigation report to confirm how much was stolen from Singh’s store Saturday.
At least one suspect is in custody, she said, but as of Sunday afternoon, no arrests have been made. The suspects fled the scene before police arrived.
Gauthier said police will be adding more patrols around stores of all kinds during the holiday period.
