Thieves with hammers target jewelry

• Tweet

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Masked men armed with sledgehammers stole jewelry from an upscale department store in Florida, police said.

The smash-and-grab robbery at Saks Fifth Avenue in Boca Raton occurred at 8 p.m. Thursday, an hour before the store was to close, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Employees said the thieves used sledgehammers to break open jewelry cases and the thieves then grabbed items and ran out, driving away from the Boca Raton Town Center Mall in a black BMW.

Police Officer Sandra Boonenberg said investigators were still unsure late Thursday what jewelry had been stolen and how much it was worth. She said as many as five men may have been involved in the robbery.