SURREY – An owner of an Indo-Canadian jewelry store got more than he bargained for when he tried to halt a robbery at his Surrey store on Sunday, lucky that he didn’t lose his life after being hit several times with a hammer as well as taking a number of bullets from close range.
The man, who was working on Sunday at the Sona Chandi jewelry store in the mini-mall Khalsa Business Centre complex at 8430 128 St., was shot in the abdomen and taken by ambulance to hospital, police said. His wounds had been described as serious, but not life-threatening.
The jewelry store owner who was shot while trying to fend off robbers is expected to make a full recovery.
Cpl. Drew Grainger told the media the 57-year-old man buzzed one man into the Sona Chandi jewelry store at 8430 128th St. on Aug. 14. The supposed customer then let three other men into the store, all of whom were wearing masks, Grainger said.
The owner “put up a bit of a fight as these males began smashing display cases with a hammer,” he said. The store keeper was shot several times in the lower body and was attacked with the hammer, Grainer said.
In shocking footage captured by cameras at a nearby store, a man in blue is shown entering the store, and then holding the door open as the masked men run in. A flood of customers then rushes out of the store.
“When the customers ran out, they were screaming, ‘robbers,'” a witness, who asked not to be identified, told CTV News.
“Our legs were shaking, and we were shaking, and we were screaming.”
The owner’s wife said that the suspects used a Taser on her. She says her husband tried to fight off the attackers, but was shot twice in the abdomen.
The video footage shows the owner lying on the floor outside the shop as the suspects run away, but before leaving the scene, one man returns with a hammer to pummel the already injured man.
A pool of blood could still be seen on the ground at the Khalsa Business Centre on Monday.
RCMP are looking for four or five suspects who fled in a vehicle before officers arrived. They were wearing dark clothing and some were wearing masks.
Witnesses are speculating that the store may have been targeted because of soaring gold prices, and say they believe the same men visited the mall wearing burqas last week to survey the store.
The store does take several precautions against robbery, including a security camera and a buzzer for entry.
Police could not confirm what was stolen from the store. He said the investigation is ongoing.
The robbers fled in a beige or light-coloured SUV.
