A thief walked into the Bloomingdale's at The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack, New Jersey Tuesday, smashed open a display case, and made off with jewelry — but it was the sound of the break-in, not the theft itself, that sent the mall into chaos. Shoppers inside mistook the repeated cracking of glass for gunfire, setting off a massive emergency response before police determined no shots had actually been fired.
Loud Bangs Mistaken for Gunshots
According to NBC New York, reporter Chris Jose detailed how the smash-and-grab robbery unfolded inside the department store, with shoppers scrambling after mistaking the sound of smashing glass for gunfire. Hackensack police say the suspect struck the glass display case five times with a hammer to break it open, according to New Jersey 101.5. In an enclosed retail space, the repeated blows against heavy display glass apparently produced sharp, percussive noises that panicked patrons interpreted as gunshots.
The suspect made off with jewelry from the display case during the daytime heist, per a video report from FOX 5 NY. The theft itself was over quickly, but the fallout from the noise it generated was not.
SWAT Team and State Police Rushed In
With 911 calls reporting possible gunfire, the response was immediate and heavy. Hackensack Deputy Police Chief Gregory Zisa said the reaction to those reports included local police, the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, and a regional SWAT team, as reported by Patch. Multiple agencies converged on the mall before officers determined the noise had come from a hammer, not a firearm.
Bloomingdale's was placed on lockdown for under an hour, the outlet noted, and normal mall operations resumed by Tuesday afternoon. No shoppers or employees were reported injured during the scare. The suspect who took the watches remained at large as of the initial reporting.
Part of a Wider Pattern in New Jersey
The Hackensack incident is the latest in a string of high-value smash-and-grab jewelry heists across the state this year. In August, four masked individuals robbed 9Lakha Jewelers in Woodbridge, escaping with nearly $1 million in jewelry within about a minute, according to the same New Jersey 101.5 report. And in April, four suspects hit SD Jewelry in Perth Amboy, packing garbage bags with $1 million in stolen merchandise before fleeing in a vehicle.
The Shops at Riverside, where the robbery took place, sits at 390 Hackensack Avenue in Bergen County and is an upscale regional shopping center anchored by Bloomingdale's and other luxury specialty retailers, according to Shore News Network. The Hackensack robbery is among several jewelry thefts reported in New Jersey.
Tougher Penalties Now on the Books
New Jersey lawmakers have already moved to crack down on this type of crime. Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation, A-4755/S-3587, that upgraded retail theft penalties, allowed prosecutors to aggregate stolen merchandise values across a 12-month period for felony charges, and extended prison terms for repeat offenders, according to the New Jersey League of Municipalities. The law also automatically upgrades simple assault to aggravated assault when committed against an on-duty retail employee.
State lawmakers have pointed to the financial toll of organized retail theft as justification for the tougher statute. John Russo and the New Jersey Food Council have put New Jersey's annual sales-tax revenue losses from organized retail theft at an estimated $200 million. Whether the Hackensack suspect will ultimately face charges under the newer statute remains to be seen, but the case adds another entry to a growing list of brazen, high-dollar retail thefts testing the law's reach.
