5 suspects wanted after St. Catharines jewelry store robbed

Niagara Regional Police Service release surveillance photos of the five suspects wanted in connection with a jewelry store robbery at the Pen Centre in St. Catharines. (NRPS)

Five suspects are wanted after they allegedly used a sledgehammer to rob a jewelry store in St. Catharines Thursday afternoon.

Niagara Regional Police say the robbery happened just after 1 p.m. in the Pen Centre shopping mall at 221 Glendale Avenue.

Police say five people entered the Griffin Jewellery store and used a small sledgehammer to smash several display cases.

The suspects then took multiple pieces of jewelry and put them into bags, police say.

Several witnesses attempted to intervene according to police, and the suspects were chased through the mall.

During the chase, police say one witness collided with a mall column and two others were sprayed with an irritant similar to pepper spray.

The two people who were sprayed were treated on scene, while the person who collided with the column was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The Pen Centre was evacuated for a short time while police investigated.

All five fled in a silver Honda CRV with an Ontario license plate reading BFZV 946 however, police say that license plate is registered to a different vehicle.

Police have released photos of the suspects but did not give any identifying descriptions.

Any witnesses or anyone with more information is asked to contact Niagara police or Crime Stoppers.