An Anaheim jewelry store owner is relieved but not letting his guard down Monday after he managed to scare off more than a dozen burglars with a single warning gunshot from inside his store last week.
Security footage shows five cars pulling in front of Al-Amira Jewelry on Brookhurst Street at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The group of about 15 to 20, dressed in hoodies and face coverings, closed in on the storefront as some attempted to break the front door with sledgehammers.
“I’m looking in the window. I see five cars with the people coming to my store,” said the jewelry owner, who did not share his name due to safety concerns. “At this moment, I had to defend myself.”
Video from inside the store shows the owner firing a single gunshot, scaring the group away from the front door. He said he did not want to harm any of the would-be burglars, so he purposefully shot toward the ceiling, where the bullet lodged itself in the bulletproof glass.
The owner added that his store is equipped with bulletproof doors and an extensive security system.
“I have to defend myself and my business, and every single jewelry store has to do the same,” he said.
Al-Amira is the third Anaheim jewelry store to be targeted in about a month, according to Anaheim investigators.
Sgt. Matt Sutter of the Anaheim Police Department said he is investigating possible connections to other jewelry store roberies.
On Tuesday, police arrested five people after a burglary at Don Roberto Jewelers, about four miles away. In June, two people were arrested after driving their car into Besan Jewelry store, which is across the street from Al-Amira, according to police.
“I’ve seen some of these vehicles in other robberies that I’ve seen on the news, so they may be related. Some of the vehicles are very specific,” Sutter said.
Police said they were able to identify one license plate out of the five cars involved, and are pursuing other leads.