A manhunt continued Monday for three masked robbers who smashed display cases at Tyler Mall in Riverside, California, prompting panic among holiday shoppers who thought they heard gunfire, according to police.
Three masked men went into a Ben Bridge jewelry store inside the mall at 6:30 p.m. Sunday and "used hammers and axes to smash jewelry cases and steal jewelry," police said.
One witness captured the moment when a robber used a sledgehammer to smash through the cases, sending shoppers scattering through the mall.
Many people took to Twitter to report they had heard gunfire, and shoppers and workers panicked and ran from the mall. Others heard the breaking glass and ducked for cover.
It comes days after a husband and wife opened fire on a holiday party in San Bernardino, 17 miles away from the mall, killing 14 and wounding 21 others. Residents of the area are still on edge.
Riverside police initially received a call describing "shots fired, active shooter." The Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and other agencies responded to the reports of an active shooter out of an abundance of caution.
"Watch commanders deployed officers to city malls and theaters as a precaution during the Riverside response," San Bernardino police Chief Jarrod Burguan said via Twitter.
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Riverside City spokesman Phil Pitchford later reassured the public, saying, "There is not an active shooter."
Workers and shoppers were told to shelter in place as officers canvassed the mall, searching for the men. Authorities sweeping the mall were unable to find the suspects, but police said officers located a stolen vehicle believed to have been used by the men.
No one was injured in the incident.
