A jewelry store in Oakland’s Montclair neighborhood reported being robbed Sunday morning. Aster, which is located on Mountain Boulevard, posted on Instagram that during the daytime Sunday, their store was robbed.
“Thankfully, while our team is shaken up, no one was seriously hurt, ” the post read.
“We’ve got burning eyes from pepper spray, smashed cases, and stolen jewelry,” the post continued.
NBC Bay Area reached out to Oakland Police about this incident, but have not heard back yet.
The owner of the store didn’t want to be interviewed on Sunday, but did express her thanks to the neighborhood and community who have been checking in and supporting her during this time.
The store now has a “Closed” sign out front, and on Instagram, the store said it will share details about its reopening date soon. The store also added that no customer repairs or personal jewelry were stolen.
“The outpouring of love and support for our little business and its team reminds us why we hella love Oakland,” Aster said in the Instagram post.
One neighbor who lives directly above Aster said she heard the commotion from the break-in on Sunday morning. This neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she called 911 and said she was shocked to see a break-in happen while the store was open and staff were inside.
Debe Rapson, who lives in Montclair and was shopping in the area, said of this break-in, “There’s a farmers market around the corner at that time, so it’s really crazy that somebody would have the guts to do that at that time of day.”
Rapson noted that in Montclair, local small businesses are “very important to the community.”
This break-in is the latest incident targeting Bay Area jewelry stores.
In San Jose, 15 suspects were captured on video a week ago while robbing a San Jose jewelry store and pushing the 88-year-old owner to the ground.
Several days later, another group of masked suspects tried to smash their way into a Milpitas jewelry store. But the business owner fought back, firing a gun and scaring away the would-be thieves.
Then, later that same night, an attempted robbery turned into a shootout at a cash-for-jewelry business on International Boulevard in Oakland. Two of the suspects died when the owner fired back.
Other Bay Area jewelry stores have been targeted over the past few months as well.
Tuan Ngo and Edward Escobar, who are both active in Oakland politics, heard about the Montclair break-in through alerts in their network about crime in Oakland. Neither Ngo nor Escobar is associated with the business.
But the two said they were concerned to hear about a break-in at another jewelry store.
Ngo and Escobar have recently gotten involved with a group across several Bay Area cities that is calling for more safety cameras and police presence in response to break-ins across the region.
“We have started communicating with each other and asking Governor Newsom to fund public safety and accountability,” Ngo said.
Source: NBC Bay Area