Lynnwood, WA jewelry store owner shoots at suspects during attempted robbery
Lynnwood police responded to a reported armed robbery with shots fired at 12:26 p.m. at 6501 196th Street Southwest.
There, officers found a pickup truck rammed into the front entrance of Medina Jewelers, where multiple armed suspects tried to rob the store.
Surveillance video captured the suspects driving three vehicles in circles around the parking lot. Then, the truck barrels into the store, sending glass flying and store employees running.
A group of masked suspects jumped from the other cars and ran inside through a gap in the glass, with one holding what looked like an axe.
The store owner then grabbed his gun and fired shots at the group, sending them running without taking anything. The suspect driving the truck then gets out, appearing hunched over while waiting for the getaway car.
Police said it’s unknown if any of the suspects were struck by gunfire.
What they’re saying:
“Oh my God, it sounded like a total crash,” said Julie Baumgartner, a neighbor. Baumgartner was watching a movie next door in her apartment when the robbers struck.
“I mean glass breaking loudly, very loudly, that’s what made me look out my living room window right away and I saw the truck inside the jewelry store,” she said.
Police are searching for the cars the suspects fled in: a black BMW SUV and a silver Toyota or Infiniti sedan. Police said the black BMW struck a parked vehicle while fleeing and may have visible damage to the front passenger side.
“It was broad daylight and a pretty rare occurrence for us,” said Commander Joe Dickinson with Lynnwood Police.
Dickenson said they’re still working to learn if the suspects had a gun, and says it’s fortunate that no employees of the jewelry store were hurt.
“You had several witnesses that were out and about, several pedestrians walking around, all of a sudden a car crashing into a building and shots ringing out is cause for alarm,” said Dickinson.
“It’s just sad, because they’re just really nice people,” said Baumgartner. “I’m glad there wasn’t any customers in there that got hurt, because they would have, the way the truck went into the building.”