LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A Lynnwood jewelry store owner opened fire on a group of suspects after a pickup truck rammed through the front entrance of the business during an attempted armed robbery Tuesday afternoon, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
Lynnwood police responded at 12:26 p.m. to a reported armed robbery with shots fired at 6501 196th Street Southwest. There, officers found a pickup truck rammed into the front entrance of Medina Jewelers, where multiple armed suspects had tried to rob the store.
Surveillance video captured the suspects driving three vehicles in circles around the parking lot before the truck barreled 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, 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, according to FOX 13. The suspect driving the truck got out, appearing hunched over while waiting for the getaway car. Police said it is unknown if any of the suspects were struck by gunfire.
Julie Baumgartner, a neighbor, was watching a movie in her apartment next door 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. "It's just sad, because they're just really nice people. 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."
Police are searching for the cars the suspects fled in: a black BMW SUV and a silver Toyota or Infiniti sedan. The black BMW struck a parked vehicle while fleeing and may have visible damage to the front passenger side, police said. "It was broad daylight and a pretty rare occurrence for us," said Commander Joe Dickinson with Lynnwood Police. Dickinson said investigators are still working to learn if the suspects had a gun, and said it is 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," Dickinson said. Lynnwood police ask anyone who witnessed the robbery or has surveillance video of the suspects or vehicles to contact them at [email protected].