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Oak Lawn, IL--A daring burglary left a store owner in the hospital after the suspects forcibly entered the store through a wall, assaulted him, and stole valuable merchandise.

[Image by Creative Commons]

According to a report by WGN TV, shortly after opening at around 12:15 p.m., Elias Mseeh of Ramallah Jewelry was confronted by three thieves who had forced their way into the store by kicking through a wall from an adjacent vacant retail space. “It looks like they just kicked it through and pulled the drywall out,” commented Gerald Vetter, the Division Chief of Oak Lawn PD, in the report.

The report noted that the thieves cut the phone line upon entry, unintentionally setting off the store's alarm. Nonetheless, the perpetrators carried on with their crimes for around seven minutes. In this short span, Mseeh was bound, brutally beaten, and witnessed the smashing of his display cases.

In the report, Vetter noted, “From what I’m aware of, they took a good deal of gold necklaces and bracelets, loose jewelry, and stones and stuff like that from the repair room.” The family reported the thieves were also after the key to the store’s safe. However, it was with Mseeh's business partner, who had not yet arrived.

Subsequently, the suspects exited the store through the same hole in the wall and headed east on foot. “That’s an anomaly. Usually, burglaries happen in the overnight hours or when it's dark outside,” said Vetter, as per the report. “It’s very rare to see a daylight burglary at a business.”

Oak Lawn PD urges anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward and contact them at 708-499-7796.

Learn more in the WGN TV report.