SANFORD, Fla. — Two men, armed with a sledge hammer, walked into a Mayors jewelry store at the Seminole Towne Center mall Sunday afternoon, smashed a jewelry case and stole thousands of dollars of watches.
The robbery happened just feet away from an area where children were taking pictures with Santa Claus.
Some businesses, including Sears, locked their doors with shoppers inside for 30 minutes because of the robbery.
"We didn't know what was going on. Sears wouldn't let anyone out of the store. They pulled down the gates and locked the doors," said shopper Doug Zimmer.
George Ramos works at the Seminole Town Center mall. He said shoppers were panicked because of what was happening.
"Everybody was just on the ground, grabbing their kids and holding them," Ramos said.
Investigators say the men were in such a hurry to leave they left their sledge hammer behind. There was also blood evidence found where the glass was broken.
Police say the mall does not have video surveillance, but several of the individual stores do. The crooks were not wearing masks so investigators should have plenty of surveillance tape to review, and that could prove to be a case cracker.
WFTV
