Jewelry store robbery goes bad - for robbers

KATV Channel 7 (Little Rock, AK) is reporting that one jewelry store robber was shot and killed, two are in custody, and that three or four others escaped when store owners fought back.

Police told reporters the men tried to rob two jewelry merchants from Texas while at Cecil's Fine Jewelry in west Little Rock. A shootout began and the two merchants, who were also armed, shot back at the suspects. One suspect was hit in the shootout, dropped off near a local hospital, and later died. Police say the merchants in this case were not injured.

Capt. David Ebinger, LR Police was quoted as saying "I think we probably got at least some of the individuals from yesterday who really didn't know what they were getting into, and an amateur who's not prepared is more dangerous than anybody involved."

From the story:

Authorities say this kind of planned robbery is part of bigger nationwide problem of targeting jewelry stores and merchants.

(Thomas Browne, FBI) "If there's any engraving on any of the jewelry, they polish it off. If it's gold, a lot of times they'll melt it down and it becomes unidentifiable pretty quick."

Contact information dangerous Ohio jewelry outlets is available in OFCC's Do Not Patronize While Armed database...