Novi Police Release Photos of Mall Smash-and-Grab Suspects

NOVI, MI — Three men accused of stealing watches in a smash-and-grab robbery that resulted in the evacuation of Twelve Oaks Mall Saturday remain at large, Novi police said Monday.

The robbery occurred around 5:20 p.m. at a Tapper’s jewelry store inside the mall. The suspects used a small hammer to break the glass display case and got away with two watches of undisclosed value before fleeing the scene on foot, police said.

Police have released surveillance photos of the suspects and have asked anyone who recognizes them to contact Det. Sgt. Scott Baetens at (248) 348-7100. Anonymous tips may be left with Crime Stoppers at (800) SPEAKUP.

The mall was placed on lockdown and evacuated after reports of an active shooter, but those reports proved unfounded, police said. Instead, police said the sounds of glass shattering and a glass door being slammed as one suspect fled were mistaken for gunshots.

The sound caused widespread panic inside the mall, which Twitter user Nick Orzel, of Livonia, captured on video and posted, originally with the message, “SHOOTING IN 12 OAKS.”

The video quickly went viral. It has been retweeted 2,214 times, and it led to speculations that weren’t true, including that hostages had been taken.

Orzel told The Detroit News that he “didn’t hear anything besides people yelling ‘gun,’ ” adding that he didn’t learn until about an hour later that there was no gun.

Novi Police Chief Novi Police Chief David Molloy sent a tweet saying there was no active shooter, but it was only retweeted 123 times.

Dan Jones, the mall manager, declined to comment when asked by The Detroit News if the mall would have been evacuated without the confusion surrounding a possible shooter.

“We do regular training exercises with police to handle a variety of topics so we feel as prepared as we can be for the unknown,” Jones said in an email to the newspaper. “While nothing is ever managed perfectly in an emergency situation, we feel our response was prompt and properly handled.”

Besides Novi police, law enforcement officers from Wixom, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police responded to the mall.

The mass exodus from the mall hampered police in their response, Baetens told The Detroit News.

“It hampered us,” he said, “but not to the degree that we couldn’t do our job.”