Terrifying moment armed thugs raid a jewellery store before a hero shop worker tries to force them out while scared security guards do little but watch from afar

• About eight masked men robbed a jewellery store inside an Auckland Westfield
• The robbers stormed the Stewart Dawsons inside St Lukes Westfield on Tuesday
• Brave shopper confronted the thugs and yelled at them to leave the centre 
• A nearby retail worker mistook the robbers’ batons for guns and hid customers
• She rolled down her store’s metal door and took the shoppers to a back room

Brazen masked thugs stormed into a jewellery store and smashed glass cabinets to rob the business of precious items.

Shoppers ran for cover as the eight men robbed the Stewart Dawsons store at St Lukes Westfield in Auckland about 5pm on Tuesday.

Video shows the robbers charging into the store, snatching jewellery, and using batons to smash the shop up before fleeing out of the shopping centre.

A brave female shopper tried to stand up the thieves, repeatedly yelling at them to ‘get out’, but they ignored her.

Eight masked robbers targeted a Stewart Dawsons jewellery store in St Lukes Westfield on Tuesday (pictured, the masked robbers fleeing the store with expensive jewellery)

A security guard also jogged behind the group as they fled, with terrified shoppers seeking shelter in nearby stores.

One robber threatened a passerby with his baton before leaving the store.

A brave retail worker for nearby fashion store Max said she heard glass shattering and screams before she saw one of the robbers holding a large baton that she mistook to be a gun.

She immediately jumped to action, rolling down her store shutters and locking the doors.

She then hid customers in a back room where they waited for the masked men to leave.

A nearby retail worker hid customers in the backroom of her store after mistaking the robbers’ batons for firearms (pictured, one of the masked robbers threatening witnesses with a baton)

Police said they are still investigating the aggravated robbery and will regularly patrol the St Lukes Westfield shopping centre (above)

The robbers fled the scene a short time later with the stolen jewellery.

Officers later found an abandoned Toyota Corolla Axio about a kilometre from the scene, on Taylors Road, they believed was used as a getaway vehicle.

Blood was found on the outside of the stolen car and abandoned jewellery on the road beside it.

Auckland City West Area Commander Inspector Alisse Robertson said police were following leads into the aggravated robbery but have not yet made any arrests.

The masked robbers used large batons to smash glass cabinet cases inside the high-end jewellery shop before fleeing the scene (pictured, the store after the attack)

‘The community can be assured our staff are working hard to identify the offenders and hold them to account,’ she said.

‘We understand this incident would have been an alarming experience for staff and other witnesses in the complex.

‘There will be an increased police presence around the area and we will continue to conduct regular foot patrols inside the complex.’

Anyone with information about the attack is urged to contact police.

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