Shots fired in armed robbery attempt at jewelry store

ST. PETERSBURG -- Police are investigating an armed robbery attempt from the weekend where two men fired three shots in a jewelry store as customers fled.

It happened about 11 a.m. at the Maxi Mall, 4301 34th St. S, in the New York Jewelry Store. Police said it was the second time the store had been targeted in the past few months, they believe by different suspects.

Surveillance video shows two males, probably teenagers, entering the store and loitering around as customers shop. Then one teen pulls out a gun and starts pointing it at people, while the other teen throws something, possibly a rock, at the display case, trying to break it.

The teen with the gun fires three times, leaving a bullet hole in the glass. But when the case held, the men fled on foot.

Police described the suspects as black, in their late teens, with slender builds. The teen who fired the gun wore an orange shirt; the other had on a white T-shirt.

- Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer