The man rode an electric scooter to a gem store in the middle of Paris, stole a jewelry bag worth millions of dollars and then escaped.
Surveillance cameras showed the suspect with gray hair, wearing a light gray suit, white shirt and tie, riding a blue electric scooter to the Chaumet jewelry store near the Champs-Elysees avenue in central Paris. at about 5:10 p.m. on July 27.
Store staff said the man came alone, initially pretending to be a customer looking at jewelry before pulling out a knife and threatening them. The suspect then left the store with a white bag containing jewelry and gems and used an electric scooter to escape. No one was injured in the robbery.
The suspect rode a blue electric scooter and escaped after robbing a jewelry store in Paris, France on July 27. Photo: AFP.
Jeanne d’Hauteserre, leader of the 8th district of Paris, where the robbery occurred, described this as a “reckless, daring and unprecedented” act. A police officer said the suspect stole a “very significant” amount of jewelry.
On July 28, French police stopped a passenger car on a highway running through Moselle province in the east of the country and arrested two suspects, recovering “a significant part” of jewelry worth 2-3 million EUR ( about 2.4-3.6 million USD).
French prosecutors said the two suspects were born in 1967 and 1977, but did not provide their identities.
The two suspects appear to have taken advantage of the fact that actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was present at a nearby eyeglasses store to carry out the robbery. Many outside witnesses said they did not hear or see anything at the jewelry store, because they only paid attention to Van Damme.
The Chaumet jewelry store chain was founded in 1780 with its most famous facility located on Vendome Square in District 1 of Paris. This facility was robbed of gems worth 1.9 million EUR (about 2.3 million USD) in 2009.
