A brazen sledgehammer robbery at an upscale jewelry store shocks Mexico City

MEXICO CITY — Three men armed with sledgehammers and hatchets walked into an upscale mall in Mexico City and spent about a minute bashing in reinforced plate glass windows at a luxury jewelry store, before snatching merchandise and fleeing.

The bizarre scene was captured on video on Monday by bystanders who posted it on social media. It showed the three men whacking away at the windows, while a fourth man, apparently armed and on the lookout, observed them quietly.

In the video, no mall security or police appear to be present on the scene.

Mexico City police chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday that police had worked through the night on the case and one suspect had been detained.

The mall is located on the edge of the upscale neighborhood of Polanco, which has long been considered relatively safe.