Three suspects rushed into Jewels by Alan, a jewelry store in Irvine at Michelson Drive and Jamboree Road, at the Park Place Shopping Center at around noon on Monday.

The robbers stole as much as $1M worth of jewelry as they smashed the showcases with sledgehammers and then quickly scooped the jewelry into large trash cans. They emptied the entire store, as the owner’s business partner related to the O.C. Register.

A similar robbery took place at the Kay Jewelers at the Irvine Spectrum a week and a half ago but the Irvine Police were able to pursue and arrest those suspects.

The robbers struck at Jewels by Alan at a time when the store was occupied by two customers, the owner, a business partner and a sales associate.

Fortunately no one was injured during the robbery. The three suspects fled shortly after the robbery in what may have been a gray Honda.

The robbery was captured on the store’s surveillance video which has been released this week by the Irvine Police Dept.

The Park Place Shopping Center does have unarmed security guards but apparently they were not able to do anything to thwart this robbery.