2 Bystanders Wounded in Gun Battle at Jewelry Store

Two bystanders were shot in their legs Monday morning when a gun battle broke out between a jewelry store owner and four men who tried to rob the shop, authorities said.

A 38-year-old woman and her 21-year-old son were listed in good condition at a local hospital after being shot by the would-be thieves in the store’s parking lot, said deputies at the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station.

The assailants, described as four men in their early 20s, were still at large Monday evening.

The attempted robbery occurred at about 10:50 a.m. at the Palmdale Jewelry Mart, said Deputy Paul Ullman. He said two men walked into the store wearing business suits and told the owner, the only employee present, that they needed a watch repaired.

“While he was looking at the watch, one of the suspects pulled out a gun and said that this was a robbery,” Ullman said. “They handcuffed the owner and laid him behind the counter.”

Two more men wearing T-shirts came into the store and helped smash jewelry cases, Ullman said. The robbery was interrupted when a man and his adolescent son walked into the store, he said.

“The suspects at first tried to take the son with them, but he managed to break free,” Ullman said. “The suspects then ran out of the store.”

The store’s owner, still handcuffed, grabbed a handgun and followed the four men into the parking lot, Ullman said.

“As he came out of the store to get a look at their license plate number, all four suspects began shooting at the store owner, who returned fire in self-defense,” Ullman said.

The store’s owner fired twice, but Ullman said it was shots fired by the would-be robbers that struck the bystanders. Authorities did not release the names of the injured.