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CALGARY — Gold bracelets and designer watches lay amid shards of crushed glass after culprits drove through an entrance at Market Mall, broke into a jewelry store and made off with a significant amount of product early Monday.

Officers were called to the mall in the 3600 block of Shaganappi Trail N.W. just before 4 a.m. after intrusion alarms were triggered at Jewels by Maxime’s at the north entrance of the shopping centre.

Police said it appears a vehicle had backed through the doorway and burst through glass and metal. Two male suspects wearing hoodies then entered the store, smashed glass cases, grabbed a “significant amount” of jewelry of undetermined value, and drove off.

The heist looks like it was planned, said Staff Sgt. Dave Louie, adding: “It appears they kind of knew what they wanted.”

Mall general manager Paige O’Neil estimated they spent less than three minutes in the store grabbing what they could, saying the entire incident was over in about eight minutes.

“I can’t fathom what was in their heads,” she said. “It was quick and not very pleasant.”

She said mall security quickly called 911 and officers arrived immediately. The mall security car was circling the parking lot on regular patrol and spotted the suspect vehicle driving away from the scene but could not get a licence plate number.

The police station at the mall was closed at the time and there were no officers on duty.

Thanks to witness statements, officers were led to the community of Varsity a few blocks from the mall where they discovered an abandoned, white Dodge Journey, Louie said.

The SUV, which was stolen from the Rocky Ridge area about a week ago, is believed to have been used in the incident, he added. It’s now being examined at the forensic crime scenes unit facility.

Officers will continue to make neighbourhood inquiries, view more surveillance video from other retailers, and try to find witnesses, he said, adding police hope to release surveillance images to the public at a later date.

He said investigators may also reach out to pawn shops and scour classified ads to see whether the thieves are trying to hawk their stolen goods, adding serial numbers might help police track down the products.

Although it happened early in the morning, Louie said it could have been a highly dangerous situation.

“It’s still a very brazen act to do something like that,” he said. “It’s very concerning.”

On Monday afternoon, Jewels by Maxime’s remained closed and blocked off with yellow police tape, as officers continued to probe the scene and security guards kept gawkers and curious customers at bay.

Messages to store management were not returned.

Meanwhile, workers at other jewelry retailers in the mall sympathized with the owners and employees of Jewels by Maxime’s, described as a family-owned independent business selling high-end labels such as Gucci and Breitling.

Liz Pansoy, who works at Paris Jewellers just across from the store, said she got a call before 8 a.m. from a co-worker with news of the break-in.

“We all got scared that our store was included,” she said, adding she started second-guessing herself about locking everything up properly the night before.

“It’s hard to imagine (what they’re going through),” she said.

Jamie Duguay, who works at the nearby Metalsmiths Sterling, also breathed a sigh of relief to learn the store she worked at had not been hit. She said she was shocked to see the damage left by the culprits.

O’Neil said contractors will be checking to make sure the damaged part of the building is structurally sound. Mall staff and city police will also meet Tuesday morning to debrief.

“I don’t know if anything would have necessarily prevented it, but we’re going to look at all avenues to see if there are ways to prevent such damage in the future,” she said.

cho@calgaryherald.com