Smash-and-grab robbers take $500,000 in items from Berkeley jewelry store

When asked specifically Wednesday if he planned to permanently close, the store's owner said "nothing has been decided at this point."

BERKELEY — Police continue to search for at least seven masked robbers, armed with guns and sledge hammers, who made off with $500,000 in items from a jewelry store Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The robbery happened about 2:07 p.m. Saturday at Bombay Jewelry Company, 1042 University Ave. Police said seven to eight masked suspects, some with guns, forcibly entered the store in a “coordinated robbery.”

The suspects used sledge hammers to break display cases and brandished firearms to threaten and control the staff and customers, police said.

The suspects took approximately $500,000 in assorted jewelry and fled in two vehicles, authorities said.

Detailed descriptions of the robbers have not been released.

Anyone with information about the robbery may call police at 510-981-5900.

The store owner, who asked that his name not be used, said in a phone interview Wednesday that he was in the store when the robbery happened and that the shocking crime had “a pretty paralyzing, numbing effect.”

He said the robbers were inside for about two minutes and no one was physically harmed.

The store has been closed since the robbery while repairs are made to the display cases and other damaged things.

The store is scheduled to celebrate 40 years in business next month, but the owner said he was unsure of its future. When asked specifically Wednesday if he planned to permanently close, he said “nothing has been decided at this point.”