Michael Hill jewelry store in Ottawa targeted in evening smash-and-grab

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Ottawa smash-and-grab caught on camera

Brazen Ottawa smash-and-grab caught on camera

A Friday night smash-and-grab at Place d’Orléans Shopping Centre Friday evening has left shoppers and retailers shocked.

The entire scene was caught on camera, showing three alleged thieves entering the store shortly before 7 p.m. and hammering their way through display cases at Michael Hill Jewellers.

Staff at the store declined to interview on camera but tell CTV News this is the second location that has fallen victim to a smash-and-grab, with the other store at Bayshore Shopping Centre being robbed just a few months prior.

This also marks the fourth reported jewelry heist in at an Ottawa mall in just a month. Jewelry stores at Carlingwood Mall, Billings Bridge and another at Place d’Orléans have also been targeted in daytime smash-and-grabs.

The witness who recorded and posted the video to social media recounted the events.

They were across the hall at Sunrise Records around 6:48 p.m. when they heard “what sounded like a bunch of crashing, like if someone was throwing plates on the ground” before they saw the three people smashing the displays.

The witness also notes the person on duty in Sunrise Records closed the gates. The incident was brief, with mall security showing up at around 6:54 p.m. and Ottawa Police arriving on scene at 6:58 p.m.

CTV’s public safety analyst Chris Lewis says he believes these heists are planned by organized crime groups.

“The average Joe out there, who’s going to do a nickel and dime robbery of the Mac’s Milk store, doesn’t have the wherewithal or the contacts or the infrastructure to unload thousands and thousands of dollars of jewelry,” Lewis says.

“You need the organized crime groups that have those national contacts and maybe international to do it.”

“So low risk, somebody making a pile of money, and if someone’s gets caught, it’s not going to take down an organized crime group, it’s going to take down a local thug who pulled it off,” he adds.

Clean up at Michael Hill continued Saturday morning. The store was closed to the public.

It is unclear how much jewelry was stolen.

The Ottawa Police Service did not respond to CTV News when asked about the investigation.