Authorities hope grainy surveillance images will lead them to the two men who, along with a third, attempted a brazen daylight robbery of an Oak Brook jewelry store.
Oak Brook police released the store security images a day after the trio's attempted Sunday heist of a C.D. Peacock jewelry store at the Oakbrook Center Shopping Mall.
"I was just coming down the escalator from Starbucks and there are all of these cops coming down with giant guns," said one mall customer.
When the 911 call first came in from Oakbrook Center at Route 83 and 22nd Street in Oak Brook just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday, police say the report was of an active shooter at the mall, which prompted a large, immediate response. The shooter was a jewelry store security guard trying to foil an attempted robbery by three individuals.
"One individual armed with a sledgehammer approached one of the counters and smashed it in. There was a confrontation between the individual with the sledgehammer and the security guard, at which time he discharged his weapon," said Chief James Krueger.
Police say the wounded suspect, a 24- year old Detroit resident, remains in critical but stable condition at an area hospital and had not yet been charged.
The jewelry store is a branch of CD Peacock. Police say there were ten customers and six employees in the store at the time, but only one of the would-be robbers was injured. The other two escaped in a black SUV stolen from the mall's parking lot. The SUV was recovered in Oakbrook Terrace at a strip mall.
The two at-large suspects are described as black men in their late 20s or early 30s. One is described as heavyset, 5'9", 230 lbs., with a tattoo on the right side of his neck, wearing a black t-shirt. The other is taller, possibly 5'11", 160 lbs., with a full beard and wearing a white t-shirt.
"The mall activated its active shooter emergency plan where they ask customers to stay in the stores until there was an all-clear," Chief Krueger said.
"They didn't tell us anything. They just went and locked the doors on us," said shopper Jada Roscon.
Shoppers and store employees said because no one really knew what was happening, there was confusion but no panic.
"Management kept us all calm, telling us there was no danger where we were. It's scary seeing officers with guns going through the store, but we knew we were in good hands," said one mall worker.
