White Rose Robbery: Armed gang rob shops in Leeds mall

Masked armed robbers targeted a watch shop in a shopping center in Leeds.

The gang, carrying black balaclavas and axes, a circular electric saw, baseball bats and a sledgehammer, robbed the Tag Heuer store in the White Rose Center on Wednesday night.

West Yorkshire Police said five attackers stormed the store, smashed windows and then fled the scene with a number of watches shortly before 9pm BST.

No one was seriously injured in the incident.

One staff member had his hair pulled during the raid but was otherwise physically unharmed, police said.

Det Insp John Graham said: “This clearly planned and targeted robbery took place when the shopping center was fairly quiet but I understand the huge concern it would have caused to those who were present to see these individuals armed with multiple weapons .

“Thankfully the member of staff who was confronted by these thieves did not suffer any lasting injuries, but this was an extremely traumatic experience for them.”

A TAG Heuer spokesperson said the store would remain temporarily closed and apologized to customers for any inconvenience.

“We can confirm that an incident occurred at our TAG Heuer boutique in White Rose Shopping Center on the evening of Wednesday 26 June and the store is now temporarily closed,” they said.

“We are doing everything we can to assist the police in their investigation as well as providing support to our colleagues at the boutique.”

A White Rose spokesman confirmed the shopping center would be open as usual on Thursday, with an increased police presence at the scene.

“We understand that this event could have been alarming for staff and guests and we want to reassure everyone that we, together with the police, were on the scene quickly and have flexible and robust plans to respond to such incidents,” the carrier said. word.

“We are continuing to work with the police as they carry out their investigations.”

Police asked anyone with information to contact them.