Men armed with hammers rob Michael Hill’s store in Auckland’s North West Mall

Shoppers and staff in a busy Auckland shopping center watched in horror as two men armed with hammers raided a jewelry store and made their way into display cases.

The armed robbery at Michael Hill Jewelers in the NorthWest Shopping Center occurred at 9.40am today.

The thieves broke glass display counters and stole an unknown amount of jewelry before fleeing the mall.

A shopper at the mall at the same time as the robbery said he felt “a little shaky” after witnessing the crushing and grabbing.

Riverhead resident Hayden Pellett said he saw the two men, dressed in black and with their faces covered, approach Michael Hill’s store shortly after 9:30 a.m.

“I saw the hammers in his hands and he really sank into what was going on.”

Pellett said he took out his phone to try to film the incident as evidence, but the recording did not work.

“I looked one of the guys in the eye as I broke the cabinet and I felt a little worried, but it was very quick, they got out of there and they didn’t threaten anyone.”

A witness said there were no signs of security guards as the men rushed into the store and “smashed, grabbed and threw.”

“It was quick, it seems like they had an escape vehicle waiting for them.

“I think they got away with some of the scene stuff.”

Baljeet Kaur, a worker at the Allure beauty salon, said she saw two men with their faces covered running and armed with hammers.

“They were big guys,” he said.

“It was very scary, they ran in and broke the boxes, that’s where expensive things go.

“My heart is still beating fast, it’s scary, and it’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen this.”

A police spokesman said police are on the scene and conducting follow-up investigations to identify and locate the offenders.