Botched Jewelry Heist Ends After Thieves Ram Car Into Store Door, Run Away Without Stealing Anything

Surveillance video from a jewelry store that was the target of a planned robbery shows thieves backing their tow truck into its front doors — only to back out of the heist at the last minute. 

The video, obtained by local news outlets, shows the inside of the International Jewelers Exchange in Aventura, Florida, on Thursday morning, just seconds before the truck rams one of the walls of the store down. 

The booming sound of a crash can be heard, as the windows and wall come down and debris and store merchandise drop to the ground. 

Three masked men then exit the tow truck and begin scurrying around in the store, according to the video, which has a 6:11 a.m. timestamp. 

Seconds later, the would-be thieves rush back to the tow truck and back it out of the store.  

That morning, officers with the Aventura Police Department responded to a call about a burglary in progress at the jewelry store, according to local ABC affiliate WPLG. 

“Alarms were activated and police were notified and they responded ASAP,” Tony Austin, head of security at International Jewelers Exchange, told the news outlet. 

“Three individuals in ski masks back the vehicle into the store, ran around frantically, and couldn’t apparently pull it off. They tried to hook up the equipment, but it didn’t work and they fled, they left the tow truck,” Austin said. “This place is not to be messed with. Security’s airtight, like Fort Knox.”

Austin said he thinks the thieves might have wanted to get access to a safe inside the store. Austin told NBC 6 Miami that the thieves “made off with absolutely nothing, zero.”

Police are investigating the incident, NBC 6 Miami reported.