Armed Smash And Grab Robber Breaks Into Jewelry Shop

PASSAIC, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Passaic Police want your help finding an armed robber who smashed his way into a jewelry store.

It happened at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Ray's Jewelry at Main and Passaic Avenues.

The shop was packed with customers when an armed man wearing a ski mask smashed open the front window with a large rock.

"I was standing by the window and the guy threw a rock and almost hit me with it," Tony Hanna, owner of Ray's Jewelry, told CBS2's Lisa Rozner. "He looked at me in the eye too."

He grabbed four gold chains and started running.

Moments after, a customer who was standing in the middle of the store yelled for the owner to unlock the door so he could run after the suspect.

As he ran, he fired several shots in the air, police said.

"One pedestrian chasing the other guy, and all I hear is gunshots, so I got in my apartment as soon as I can," witness Kevin Saenz said.

The gold chains are worth around $27,000, according to police.

"Thank God we didn't - no one - got hurt. Everybody went home safe, and that's what matters," said Hanna.

Hanna says he's replacing the window with thicker glass, but he's not scared.

"They'll get him. Believe me, they'll get him," Hanna said.

Hanna's already back in business, Rozner reported.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Passaic Police at (973) 365-3938.