The mob that crashed an SUV through the front door of Kim Hung Jewelry in San Jos\u00e9 arrived in multiple vehicles and carried out their smash-and-grab robbery in less than a minute.<\/p>\n
The masked robbers stormed through the shattered storefront, brandishing hammers, at least one gun and trash bags to haul away the merchandise, according to police.<\/p>\n
The brazen daylight heist, which was caught on video, prompted an angry response from lawmakers, public safety advocates and Vietnamese community leaders who called for increased law enforcement resources to combat organized crime rings. It has also forced the Vietnamese family running the jewelry story to consider abandoning the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis happens way too often, this doesn\u2019t have to happen,\u201d said Tuan Ngo, an organizer with a public safety advocacy group called Asians Unite.<\/p>\n
Moments before the robbery Friday, the 88-year-old store owner and his adult son were getting ready to close the family business on Aborn Road in the nondescript strip mall. They stowed away most of their jewelry into a safe just after 2 p.m., according to relatives. That\u2019s when a gray SUV backed into a parking spot outside and jumped the curb, crashing into the front entrance.<\/p>\n
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The gray Ford Explorer crumbled a metal security gate and shoved a long display case back several feet. In surveillance video from inside the store, the father and son are seen jumping at the loud crash. The father appeared stunned, while the son runs away from the gnarled metal and broken glass. Relatives declined to identify the father and son for fear of retaliation from the robbers.<\/p>\n
After a brief pause, the SUV pulled away and the mob stormed in through the gaping maw that was once the front door. The group wore knit caps, gloves, masks and hooded sweaters. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody get the f\u2014 down!\u201d one of the suspects shouted, according to surveillance video.<\/p>\n
The son fell to the floor and the father cried out as the masked thieves smashed display cases with hammers. One hooded robber grabbed an object out of the store owner\u2019s hands and another shoved the elderly man to the floor.<\/p>\n
At one point, a masked suspect appeared to point a handgun at the son. The group raced around the store, gathering items and dropping them into trash bags. The entire robbery unfolded in about 40 seconds, according to the surveillance video shared with The Times. <\/p>\n
The group ran outside and jumped into at least four vehicles waiting in the parking lot. They left behind the SUV used to smash into the storefront.<\/p>\n
The San Jos\u00e9 Police Department said the agency has no information to release about the suspects and the case is being investigated by the robbery unit. <\/p>\n
The store owner\u2019s niece, Linh, said her uncle is afraid, traumatized and uncertain whether he wants to keep the family business open. Linh declined to give her last name out of concern for her safety. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe just don\u2019t know if there will be a business there anymore,\u201d she said. She said she feels \u201ctraumatized, angry, bad, sad.\u201d <\/p>\n
Linh said her uncle arrived in California over 40 years ago from South Vietnam and raised his family in and around San Jos\u00e9. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a family man [who loves] his family,\u201d Linh said.<\/p>\n
She arrived at the store about 10 minutes after the robbery. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very scared. He just kept speaking in Vietnamese,\u201d Linh said. \u201cOh my god, oh my god.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noticed her uncle\u2019s feet were bloodied from walking on broken glass in sandals and he was staring off into the distance and appeared to be in a fog. His voice was uneven and he wouldn\u2019t say more than a few words at a time, she said. After a visit to a hospital, relatives learned that the elderly man had suffered a stroke. He spent the weekend in the hospital and by Wednesday the family said that he was recuperating at home.<\/p>\n
Although a recent study from financial tech company SmartAsset<\/a> ranked San Jos\u00e9 as one of the nation\u2019s safest major cities, the robbery drew angry condemnations and calls for increased law enforcement.<\/p>\n