Three men with sledgehammers rob Jared's jewelry store at Riverchase Galleria campus

Three men armed with sledgehammers robbed the Jared’s jewelry store at the Riverchase Galleria campus Saturday night and took an unknown amount of jewelry from the store, Hoover police said.

At 6:58 p.m., a man wearing a mask and carrying a sledgehammer entered the store at 3460 Galleria Circle and struck the top of a display case, Hoover police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said in a news release.

The man announced “this is a robbery,” and two more suspects with sledgehammers entered the store with their faces covered and helped take the jewelry, police said. The suspects left in a dark-colored car, and there were no injuries reported.

Three men also robbed Jared’s jewelry stores in Chattanooga on Feb. 6 and Aurora, Illinois, on Dec. 21, but police have not indicated whether the robberies are linked.

In Chattanooga, three men believed to be in their 20s, one with a handgun, entered the Jared’s at 2001 Gunbarrel Road, threatened workers, smashed display cases and left with an undisclosed amount of jewelry, Chattanooga police said. Those three suspects were last seen in a black Chevrolet Trailbazer.

In Aurora, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago, three men walked into the Jared’s at 1016 N. Route 59 with their faces covered, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. One acted as a lookout while the others announced the robbery, smashed two glass display cases, grabbed jewelry and ran, the newspaper reported.

Hoover police ask anyone with information about the robbery in Hoover to contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562. Anyone who wants to remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward can contact Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777.