X-Mass Shoppers scatter as armed raiders ram Ikea store
Pastor Dale Morgan
X-Mass Shoppers scatter as armed raiders ram Ikea store
Paul Hamilos in Madrid
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The Guardian
With an estimated 2,000 people doing their Christmas shopping, the Ikea
store in Vallecas Villa, Madrid, could not have been much busier. But
the shopping experience became even more of a crush on Sunday evening
when armed robbers rammed their vehicle into the store while shoppers
were still going about their business.
According to witnesses, a black Jeep Cherokee smashed into the exit of
the megastore at 7.30pm, and masked men jumped out, firing into the air.
Security guards sounded an alarm, indicating that a robbery was under
way, and panic gripped the store, with shoppers shouting and screaming.
Some hid among the furniture, others hit the floor. In the store's
creche, staff escorted about 40 children out of the emergency exit.
"The kids thought it was just another game - none of them cried or said
anything," said one member of staff.
The robbers - three or four, according to different accounts -
threatened the cashiers but then made directly for their target, the
central till where the money is collected.
After grabbing about €5,000 (£3,600), they made off in the Jeep, which
police said had been stolen shortly before the raid. Though police
attempted to stop the robbers, firing shots into the air, they were
unable to prevent them escaping.
Police said they believe it was a well-planned attack, and that the gang
had studied the layout of the store. An Ikea worker said: "They had it
all planned because they went straight for the central cash till." The
whole raid lasted no more than two minutes. No one was hurt.
The Ikea store, which opened only four months ago, is the first in
Madrid proper, and the third in greater Madrid.
Sunday's attack was not the first time an Ikea has been targeted in
Spain: in September 2005 a gang made off with €98,500 from a store in
Alcorcón, 10 miles south-west of Madrid.