Terrified shoppers film moment gunman robs jewellery store
A gun toting bandit in Adelaide has robbed a jewellery store in front of startled shoppers.
Police are hunting for the gunman who ransacked the store in broad daylight at the Arndale shopping centre shortly after 1pm on Sunday.
Terrifying footage captured by a nearby worker shows the man wielding a shotgun with his face covered by a balaclava. The thief then starts stashing jewellery into a large bag through a shattered cabinet window.
“Get out of the way lady, Jesus Christ,” one woman can be heard saying during the horrifying clip.
Staff and shoppers have told how they cowered behind counters as the brazen heist unfolded.
“He was doing things really quickly, looking around, waiting for someone to approach him,” witness Tracy Fullerton said.
Others were so terrified they ran and hid behind anything they could.
“Just left my keys my phone, me and my wife just stayed in the corner watching,” nearby shopper Sam Azadi said.
“I just got the customers and ran out the back to keep them safe,” Angela Datsopoulos, an employee at a nearby shop, revealed.
The brazen heist, where the thief smashed glass display units with a hammer, was all over in just seconds, but left two female staff were so distraught they needed medical attention.
As well as the shotgun, the culprit was armed with a meat cleaver.
“I felt really sorry for the people that were in the jewellery store, because they were actually stuck inside behind the counter there,” Ms Fullerton said.
As police and detectives converged on the Arndale shopping centre but the suspect slipped through their net. He drove out of the carpark in a grey Ford Territory.
It’s believed the vehicle had stolen number plates.
The store was closed for the day as officers scoured the scene for clues and dusted for fingerprints.
The hammer and meat cleaver were both seized as evidence.
Police believe the incident may be linked to a break-in and theft at gunpoint from a house in Prospect just a few hours earlier.
