8 Shots Fired During Jewelry Store Robbery at Ford City Mall

Two men robbed a jewelry store at Ford City Shopping Center Friday morning and fired eight shots in the ceiling and a glass door as they escaped with store merchandise, police said.

Chicago Police Area Central Commander Al Nagode said two black males wearing dark clothing and hats entered Treasures Jewelry around 11 a.m., which is located inside the center section of the shopping center at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. The commander said the men engaged store employees in conversation and asked to look at specific pieces of jewelry.

When employees challenged the men to return the jewelry they had asked to see, the robbers each pulled out a handgun, Nagode said.

“During the course of leaving the store as employees and security began to follow them, one of the individuals discharged his weapon at least five times straight into the air,” the police commander said. “Nobody was specifically shot at. We believe that it was for the purpose of stopping anybody from pursuing them at this time and it worked.

As the men fled the store, Nagode said another one of them turned and fired at least three shots into the entry doors on the north side of the mall.

“There was nobody following them at the time,” Nagode said. “A total of eights that I know of were fired at this time.”

Both men got into a small, silver SUV and fled the parking lot.

Nagode said the mall opened at 10 a.m. There were no customers in Treasures at the time of the robbery, and no employees were shot at or injured.

“They came in and engaged employees in conversation which we believe was their ruse,” Nagode added. “They didn’t run in with guns drawn. They asked for specific items and made good their escape.”

Treasures carries high-end jewelry, including diamond engagement rings and Rolex watches, and specializes in custom design.

The police commander said that they had good security footage and cameras. Police were downloading store surveillance video and were working on enhancing the video.

Nagode stated there were no known crime patterns or similar incidents that occurred at Ford City.

The north center wing of the mall was roped off by crime tape and was closed to shoppers, but the rest of the mall remained open.

A kiosk vendor said she arrived for work at the mall around 11 a.m. at the time of the robbery, and heard the gunshots.

“It was pow, pow, pow, pow, pow and then it stopped for a minute,” she said, “then pow, pow, pow.”

Patch will update this story when more information becomes available.