Workers fight off thieves wielding hammers at California jewelry store, video shows

A hooded man dashes inside a Huntington Beach jewelry store, produces a hammer and smashes a glass case in a dramatic California security video.

Three men carrying backpacks follow to loot the cases — and that’s when employees at Princess Bride Diamonds in Bella Terra mall charge into action, video obtained by KTLA shows.

Workers shove, punch and kick the would-be robbers, forcing them back outside, the video shows. One woman swings a stool at the thieves in the Sunday, May 22, incident.

“I didn’t think too much going into it,” Dallas Baca, a son of the owners who works in the store, told KNBC. “I just kind of reacted.”

His sister, Sarah, who also works in the store, told the station she grabbed a stool because she was “looking for something big and heavy” to drive off the intruders.

The robbers escaped the onslaught and fled the mall, Huntington Beach police said on Twitter. An investigation into the incident continues. No arrests have been made as of May 23.

“They were very fortunate the criminals did not have any weapons beyond what they used to smash that display case,” law enforcement expert Bruce Thomas told KABC. “If there was a gun involved, this could have turned out very, very different.”

Nothing was taken but the store will remain closed for several days to clean up, according to the station.

Huntington Beach is a city of 201,000 in Orange County south of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Workers fight off thieves wielding hammers at California jewelry store, video shows."