A recent robbery at a Markham jewelry store is the third such incident for the Markville Mall location.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4 shortly after noon, a robbery was reported at Lukfook Jewellery.
Video footage circulating online shows approximately 10 suspects using hammers to smash glass display cases.
According to a news release from York Regional Police (YRP), officers responded immediately and quickly took four suspects into custody. Two additional suspects were later located hiding in the washroom of a nearby food establishment.
Some of the stolen items were recovered during the arrests, but the investigators are still working with the store to determine what remains unaccounted for.
At the time of the arrest, two 16-year-old males, a 15-year-old male and a 19-year-old male were out on release orders, according to police.
Police are currently seeking at least six additional male suspects, four of whom were allegedly directly involved in the robbery and at least two acted as getaway drivers.
Video footage circulating online shows approximately 10 suspects using hammers to smash glass display cases.
A white Honda Civic, believed to be one of the suspect vehicles, rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of McCowan Road and Hwy. 7.
“Multiple occupants fled from the vehicle and officers engaged in a brief foot pursuit,” said YRP in a statement, “The occupants of the vehicle that was rear-ended sustained minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital as a precaution.”
The Honda Civic was reported stolen on Nov. 10 from the City of Toronto. Investigators believe a second vehicle, a beige sport utility vehicle (SUV), was also involved in the incident.
This robbery comes just two days after another smash-and-grab robbery at Peoples Jewellers in Richmond Hill’s Hillcrest Mall. On Monday afternoon around 4 p.m., four masked men smashed several display cases before fleeing the scene.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” said Const. Kevin Nebrija. “While the means of these robberies appear similar, there is no information right now to suggest that these two incidents are connected.”
Social media posts suggest the store just completed renovations, which began in mid-September and were finished at the end of November.
During the past six years, Lukfook Jewellery in Markville Mall has been targeted by robbers three times: first in December 2018 and again in April of this year.
Nebrija acknowledged the public’s concerns about these incidents and highlighted the dangers posed by such violent crimes. “We understand the high level of concern regarding these crimes. Smash-and-grab robberies are not what workers and visitors to the mall expect to encounter,” he said. “However, we emphasize that these incidents appear to be targeted. We remind mall goers to always remain aware of their surroundings and to contact the police immediately if they witness a violent crime.”
In the meantime, police urged the public not to intervene if they encounter a robbery in progress.
“We do not suggest community members try to intervene in any way as the suspect(s) motivations are unknown, as are any potential weapons they may be carrying,” Nebrija added, “We always advocate for the public to be the best witness as possible for us as information gathered from them by the investigators are of great assistance.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the York Regional Police holdup unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Anonymous tips can also be left online at 1800222tips.com.
Scarlett Liu is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Markham Economist Sun
