A group of thieves smashed up an Oakland jewelry store, stealing valuables from the broken glass cases before a man with a shotgun chased them off … and, it was all caught on video.
Eight people ran into Phuong Jewelry in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood Wednesday … bashing cases with hammers and making off with a ton of the store’s pieces.
Check out the vid … the first person walks in holding what appears to be a gun and aiming it at the store’s owner, Diane Trinh, and another person, forcing them to drop to the ground — before the other assailants start to smash in the cases.
After a few seconds, Diane runs to the back to get her 76-year-old husband … who comes into the store with his own gun, chasing off the robbers who’d already grabbed a ton of jewelry.
Diane and her son, Tony, spoke with KGO-TV about the attack … reportedly telling the outlet the robbers made off with between 85-90% of their inventory in the quick strike.
KGO-TV also says the business let its insurance lapse … so the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council’s trying to raise money to help the family out during this tough time.
Crime in Oakland’s becoming a serious issue for business owners … as we reported, an In-N-Out and a Denny’s in the city shut down citing rising crime rates, and several Taco Bells in Oakland are now drive-thru only to protect their employees.
Thankfully, Diane and her family are fine and started a GoFundMe … but, ya gotta wonder what brazen criminal acts like these are going to do to the local business community.