WATCH: Alleged Smash and Grab Thieves Flee When Jewelry Store Employee Opens Fire

Alleged smash and grab thieves fled the premises of a Manhattan Beach, California, jewelry store around lunchtime after a store employee pulled a gun and opened fire.

Video of the employee shooting at the alleged thieves last Friday was released within the past few hours and published by ABC 7:

KTLA reported the same jewelry store was targeted by smash and grab robbers in August 2014, at which time they were able to “[get] away with some $250,000 worth Rolex watches and diamonds.”

They were able to get some merchandise during the October 6 robbery as well, but the amount they secured is not reported.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department put out a press released on the robbery, which said, in part:

The Manhattan Beach Police Department as well the Gardena and El Segundo Police Departments responded to a smash and grab robbery at Prestige Jewelers at approximately 12:40 PM today. Five suspects, who were described as wearing hooded sweatshirts, used hammers to smash the jewelry showcases, and an employee of the store responded by using a firearm to shoot towards the suspects. The suspects fled the store to awaiting vehicles that were last seen fleeing southbound on Sepulveda Boulevard.  No employees were injured however, some jewelry was taken.

FOX 11 noted, “It was unclear if any of the suspects were injured.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.