Suspects wielding sledgehammers fail to break into Bay Ridge jewelry store with triple-pane glass

Josh Einiger Image
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Suspects wielding sledgehammers fail to break into Bay Ridge jewelry store
Josh Einiger has details on the attempted smash-and-grab robbery and if it could be connected to others in New York City.

BAY RIDGE, Brooklyn (WABC) -- As police search for the sledgehammer-wielding thieves who tried to smash their way into a jewelry store in Brooklyn, investigators are also looking into whether or not it may be connected to other business break-ins around New York City.

The violence was sudden as it was unsuccessful.

A mother and her daughter had to scramble out of the way when the trio of sledgehammer-wielding thieves made a beeline for a jewelry store in Bay Ridge.

They began pounding away as they tried to gain access with the owner and customer inside.

Fawzi Ayub owns Lamar Jewelry and says he can't understand why the gang thought they would be successful on Friday around dinner time on a busy stretch of Fifth Avenue.

High-tech security glass stopped them in their tracks.

The guys with the sledgehammers met their match when it came to the window. The triple-pane glass, while it cost about $15,000 to replace, protected the merchandise inside.

Police are investigating two very similar crimes within 48 hours of each other back in December. One was just down the block from Ayub's shop.

The suspects targeted the store in broad daylight as a young girl played inside. They also got nothing.

But in Jackson Heights, Queens, they grabbed $800,000 worth of jewelry.

"Someone is supposed to tell them if you work, hard work, if you go to school, you will be a doctor, you will be lawyer, now you lost your life," another shop owner said.

Police haven't determined if the same group is to blame for this most recent hit.


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