The manager of an armed jewelry store confronts a would-be thief

CHICAGO (WBBM) — A thief was caught on camera in the middle of the night trying to break into a jewelry store in Chicago.

Early Friday morning, a man broke a window, but before he could get in, the building manager came out with a gun.

It’s hard to show merchandise when every Jewels of Chicago customer sees a broken door.

“For me, this store is bread and butter,” said owner Qadar Mohammed.

With plenty of jewelry on display, a man in a blue jacket decided he wanted some for free.

“We can’t predict who’s coming, who’s doing what after hours,” Mohammed said.

Surveillance video shows the man hiding first and when people pass by just before 1 a.m. he waits for them to pass and then peeks out the window.

He leaves for a second, comes back with a heavy metal chain and throws it directly at the glass door.

“The first time he knocked and walked away, he was checking to see if he would hear an alarm,” Jason Quach said.

The man broke a pane of glass, but no alarm went off.

However, Quach, who manages the building, was in the office and heard the commotion.

“I don’t think he expected anyone to be inside,” he said.

The video shows the man taking the chain back to breaking the second glass and discovering who is inside.

“The moment he saw me come out with my gun, he quickly ran away and I just heard ‘no, no, no,'” Quach said.

A different angle of the surveillance video shows Quach running down the stairs with his gun.

Although Quach did not fire a shot, he said he was ready to do so and hoped to scare the man away.

At the last checks, the suspect is not yet in custody.