Palmdale jewelry store thieves pepper spray security guard during smash-and-grab

PALMDALE, Calif. - Deputies in Palmdale are searching for a group of thieves that robbed a jewelry store in a blitz attack earlier this week.

It happened at Kimberly's Jewelry on Palmdale Boulevard on Thursday, Sept. 28. Around 4:30 p.m., one person is seen on security camera footage, appearing in the door of the store, with a cannister of pepper spray in hand, spraying it directly into the face of the store's security guard. 

While the security guard reeled from the spray to the face, two other thieves walked in, armed with hammers. One of the thieves smashed the store's displays while another tried to shove the jewelry into a plastic bin.

The other three workers at the store worked to fight off the thieves, throwing seemingly whatever they could grab, including a wooden stool, at the group. Eventually the thieves ran out the door. 

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The whole robbery took less than 30 seconds.

Palmdale deputies said the thieves made off with some jewelry but did not have any specifics on what was taken. Deputies did not offer detailed descriptions of the thieves. No other information was immediately available.