“It’s terrible.” With tears in his eyes, John Franken tells about the violent robbery of the jewelry store in Halsteren, which is run by his daughter and son-in-law. Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, three men with hatchets and firearms entered there, destroyed several display cases and left with jewellery. “Inside it’s one big glass carpet.”
Immediately after hearing the bad news, John drove to the store. “I’m always afraid of this. When I hear a police car or ambulance with siren driving through the village, I immediately think: it can’t be.” Not a crazy thought, because Wednesday’s robbery is not the first. “In 2015, a ram raid was committed and before that they were also robbed. My son-in-law was left with eight stitches in his forehead.”
This time the owners were unharmed. “But of course they were very shocked. Fortunately, I was able to hold my daughter for a while. Then I had to go outside again quickly, because the technical investigation has yet to start the investigation.”
“If only I had had an ax myself.”
In those few moments inside, John saw the chaos. “It’s a complete mess. The floor is a carpet of glass. I’ve said before that they should put a different kind of glass in the windows.”
Incidentally, his daughter and son-in-law were not the only ones in the business at the time of the robbery. “Also my granddaughter and two other employees.” The fact that they have to go through this now touches John. “That makes me emotional. They built this up from the start and then some of those silly guys come and kill it. If only I had had an ax myself. But then you’re wrong again. It is now clean up the rubble and ensure that they can enjoy their work again as soon as possible.”
READ ALSO: Shooting robbers smash jeweller’s display cases with axes