Multiple suspects sought after jewelry store at Richmond Hill mall robbed

A York Regional Police cruiser is shown in this undated photo. (CTV News/Mike Walker)

A jewelry store at a shopping mall in Richmond Hill was targeted by robbers on Saturday afternoon, York Regional Police say.

No one was physically injured during the incident at Hillcrest Mall, and police say multiple suspects had fled.

It was not immediately clear if any items were taken from the store. No suspect descriptions have been released.

The store joins a list of other jewellers in the Greater Toronto Area that have been robbed over the past few months.

Two weeks ago, an off-duty officer was pepper-sprayed while trying to stop suspects who robbed a jewelry store at Scarborough Town Centre.

Two suspects used hammers to smash display cases and grab items from the shop, police said.

Prior to that, a Cartier store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre was also a target of a smash-and-grab robbery. One suspect allegedly used pepper spray, while two others shattered display cases with hammers. Police said they took a “large quantity” of jewelry.

The same week, a jewelry store at Bramalea City Centre in Brampton was targeted by robbers for the second time.

Police said three suspects armed with hammers shattered display cases while a fourth suspect waited in a getaway vehicle.

A month earlier, when the store was targeted for the first time, robbers were captured on video smashing display cases and loading bags with stolen jewelry.

Police have not said if the incidents are connected and if the same suspects are involved in each incident.

Similar incidents have also been reported outside of the GTA. On Wednesday, four suspects smashed display cases and grabbed over $100,000 worth of goods from a Stratford jewelry store.

The suspects were “in and out of the store in less than one minute,” police said. The robbery was captured on video, which was released by police in an effort to locate the suspects.