Video footage has surfaced on social media of a violent daytime robbery earlier this week at a jewelry store in a Richmond Hill shopping centre.
In the 1:33-long clip, three suspects wearing all black clothing are seen smashing the display cases at the back of a Peoples jewelry store at Hillcrest Mall, near Yonge Street and Carrville Road, just north of Highway 7.
A fourth suspect, wearing a grey hoodie, black pants, and white runners and carrying a green cloth shopping bag, is then pictured with a female worker who is on the ground. That employee then appers to crawl over to a nearby office and is last seen inside that room with its door slightly ajar.
The fourth suspect then appears to go through some cupboards near the office before joining the other three suspects as they continue to smash more display cases and stuff merchandise into shopping bags.
The suspects, who all wore face masks and gloves, are then seen running out of the mall towards a dark-coloured Nissan sedan with its four-way flashers on. They all jump into the vehicle, which promptly speeds off.
At least one witness appears in the clip filming the hold-up, which happened on Monday.
York Regional Police (YRP) said they were called to that area at about 4 p.m. for reports of a commercial robbery in progress.
Police said four suspects entered the jewelry store and demanded cash.
One of the suspects then allegedly assaulted an employee, while the three others smashed open display cases.
Investigators said the suspects then removed an unknown quantity of jewelry before fleeing to a Nissan Maxima driven by a fifth suspect.
This vehicle, which police said was reported stolen in Toronto, has since been recovered, they said.
The victim’s injuries, meanwhile, are being described by police as minor in nature.
The first suspect is described as a white male who was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and white shoes.
The other three suspects are only described as Black males who were last seen wearing black clothing.
Police have not released a description for another suspect whom they say was waiting in the stolen car.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Const. James Dickson, of YRP, told CTV News Toronto that police are aware of several witnesses who saw and/or filmed the robbery, adding that they have been in communication with the individual who captured the aforementioned video, which is being widely shared on social media.
“We’re talking about four o’clock during the holiday shopping season, so there were many people that were in the mall at the time, and they have been very helpful in terms of documenting the incident for us,” Dickson told CTV News Toronto’s Beth Macdonell.
Calling Monday’s robbery a “crime of opportunity,” he urged anyone who witnesses a violent crime to always keep in mind that their safety is “paramount” and to not compromise it for the sake of recording an incident.
Dickson added that in many cases those who commit these kinds of crimes are armed and willing to harm others.
In the case of this robbery, three of the suspects carried hammers and used a glass punch to break the display cases, he said.
“You never know who these people are, or what they’re capable of, or what they’re willing to do to get away,” said Dickson, noting that the suspects in this case were well prepared as they concealed their identity with masks, gloves, and hoodies and as a result were successful in making off with “quite a bit of jewelry.”
“In this circumstance, fortunately, we only had one person who suffered minor injuries,” he said, adding that although there hasn’t been a massive increase in this type of incident in York Region, it’s not the first a robbery like this has happened at that mall.
Police continue to investigate and are asking anyone with information, including dashcam or video surveillance footage at the time of the incident, to contact YRP’s Hold-Up Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Beth Macdonell