Family Considersโค Closing Jewelry Store After โขViolent Smash-and-Grab Robberyโฃ in San Josรฉ
A San josรฉโฃ jewelry store wasโ the target ofโค a brazen smash-and-grabโข robbery last โweek, leaving the elderly owner traumatized and his family questioning โthe future of the business. The โคincident, captured on surveillance video,โ unfolded in approximately 40 seconds.
According to the video, a groupโค ofโ suspects drove an SUV intoโ the storefront before entering theโฃ store.One robber forcibly grabbed an object fromโ the store owner’s hands,โฃ while โanother shoved the man โฃto the floor. A masked suspect was seenโ pointing what appearedโ to be a handgun โคat the owner’s son during the robbery. The groupโ quickly gathered items, placing them into trash bags, before fleeing in at least four vehicles waiting โin the parking lot, โabandoning the SUV used to breach the store.
The San Josรฉ Police Departmentโข has stated โthey have no facts to release about the suspects at this time, and theโข case is being investigated by the robbery unit.
the store โowner’s niece, Linh,โฃ who declined to โprovide her last name due โto safety concerns, describedโฃ her uncle’s conditionโ following the ordeal.”He was very scared. He just kept speaking in Vietnamese,” she โsaeid, recounting how he repeatedly exclaimed, “แปi giแปi ฦกi, แปi giแปi ฦกi,” whichโข translates to “Oh my god, oh my god.” โ
Linh arrived at the store approximately 10 minutes after theโข robbery and found her uncle with bloodied feet fromโ walking on broken glass in sandals.Sheโ described him as being “in a โฃfog,” speaking in short phrases andโ appearing distant. A subsequent hospitalโ visitโ revealed theโข elderlyโฃ man hadโ suffered โa strokeโฃ and spentโ the weekendโ recuperating in โthe hospital before returning home by Wednesday.
“We just don’t know if โฃthere will be a business there anymore,” Linh said, expressing her family’s uncertainty.โ She added, “We โคjustโค only are asking for prayer and wishes for him to get better. โWe โฃwant everybody to know about the safety of our โขbusinesses right now.” Linh also shared her own emotionalโค response, โstating she feltโ “traumatized, angry,โฃ bad, โsad.”
The โstore owner, whoโข arrived in โcalifornia over 40 years ago from โSouth Vietnam, built a life andโข raised his family in the San Josรฉ area.โ “He’s โa family man [who loves] his family,” โLinh โคemphasized.
The โrobbery โhas sparked outrage and calls forโข increased public safety measures. Despite a โrecent SmartAsset study ranking San Josรฉ as one of the nation’sโ safest major cities,โ the incident drew โขstrong condemnation.โฃ The Vietnamese community held a rally Tuesdayโฃ evening outside the โjewelry store,โฃ advocating for better policing and increasedโฃ funding for public safety. Demonstrators โcarried โคsigns reading “End Smash & Grab” and โฃcallingโ forโข stricter penalties for โคcriminals as approved byโ voters in Novemberโข under Proposition 36.
Sanโ Josรฉ Mayor Matt Mahan acknowledged the community’s anger,statingโ the surveillance โขvideo “made his blood boil.” โPublic โขsafety advocacy groups are urging state legislators and Governor Gavin โNewsom to increase policing and install more license plate readers throughout the Bay Area. โฃEdward Escobar, founder of the Coalition โfor Community Engagement, which supported recentโข recalls in Oakland and โขAlamedaโข County, characterizedโ the robbery as โpart of a โขpattern of organizedโข crime, stating, “It was just San Josรฉ’s turn on the list.”
The family is not seeking financial donations, but rather โprayersโ and well wishes for โthe owner’s recovery.
