UPDATED: Police were calling for tips from the public over the weekend and released surveillance camera photos after an armed robbery of a jewelry store at Skøyen on Oslo’s west side Friday evening. Three masked men threatened the store’s manager and a customer at gunpoint, and made off with an unknown quantity of expensive watches.
The heist occurred shortly before closing time at the Skøyen branch of the exclusive Heyerdahl jewelry store in the Sjølyst area. Heyerdahl is located on Karenslyst allé, a popular shopping street in the redeveloped area that now features many residential units and offices.
State broadcaster NRK aired video from surveillance cameras on its nightly national newscast Dagsrevyen showing how the masked men arrived on foot, with at least one of their guns clearly visible. Goldsmith Thomas Heyerdahl was attending to a customer when the robbers burst into the shop and ordered them to “get down!”
Heyerdahl told newspaper Aftenposten on Sunday that he was glad he had attended several courses on how to react to a robbery: “I’ve often wondered how I’d react … and was surprised how calm I was.” Both he and customer immediately crouched down on their knees with their arms and hands clearly visible.
With a pistol aimed at his head, Heyerdahl said he could hear glass cases being shattered. The robbers, described as “goal-oriented and professional,” left in a matter of minutes with several TAG Heuer, Longines and Baume & Mercier watches.
Police, who arrived within minutes after Heyerdahl finally had a chance to sound the alarm, said the robbers fled in a stolen red Audi that was later found abandoned with a flat tire and its motor running at Fornebu, about a 10-minute drive farther west of Oslo. Police used one of their helicopters and dogs as they searched for the men, who are believed to have run from the car.
“No one was injured, but it was traumatic event for those in the store,” police operations leader Hanne Nordve told newspaper Aftenposten. Both Heyerdahl and his customer were being offered crisis counseling after the robbery.
newsinenglish.no staff
