Newark police are searching for four men after display cases were smashed and shots were fired in a jewelry store robbery that occured inside of Thursday afternoon.
Commander Tom Milner said police were called to the shopping center around 12:15 p.m. after the police department received a call of gunshots fired.
Police have determined that , located across from Sheikh, was robbed by four men, Milner said.
The men, one of whom had what was possibly a Mac-10 pistol, then began smashing the display cases and grabbing jewelry, Milner said.
"At that point there were some shots fired inside the store," he said.
All four suspects were armed with semi-automatic handguns, Milner added. Milner said it is not clear why the robbers fired shots, as there was apparently no resistance from employees. It is not clear which gun or guns were fired during the robbery.
"Thankfully, we're happy to report that there were no injures," Milner said.
The suspects then ran through JC Penney's to reach the parking lot where they entered and fled inside two suspect vehicles that were last seen heading onto northbound Interstate 880, Milner added.
The first vehicle is described as a white 2008 Mercedes E-Class and the second suspect vehicle is said to be a black Acura or Lexus with a license plate number believed to be 6LWZ43.
All four suspects are described to be black males between the ages of 20 and 28. One suspect was described as 160 pounds with a possible tattoo on his right forearm, Milner said. All of the suspects were described to be thin and dressed in black hoodies.
Police could not say whether the store was specifically targeted. The investigation is ongoing and Milner said Newark police will be analyzing whether the incident has similarities to any recent jewelry store robberies within the Tri-Cities and the entire southern Alameda County region.
Zena Jewellers is closed to customers, but as of 1:30 p.m., all other businesses inside of the mall remained open. Police exited the area around 4 p.m.
Employees with the jewelery store were not available for comment, but an employee at Motherhood Maternity, located two stores down, said she had heard a number of loud crashes when the robbery was happening.
NewPark Mall General Manager Kelly Gardner said mall staff has been "working in full cooperation with the local authorities as they investigate the situation,"
Gardner added, "Because this is an active police investigation we are unable to comment further at this time."
Any person with any information concerning these incidents can contact the Newark Police Department's non-emergency line at 510-578-4237 or can call the Silent Witness Hotline at 510-578-4000, extension 500.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
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Editor's note: This report was last updated 4:05 p.m.
