Another incident with loud sounds going off at Fashion Fair mall causes shoppers to flee

Nearly a week after multiples shots were fired at Fashion Fair mall, another incident occurred Friday afternoon that had shoppers abruptly fleeing again.

A glass case at Valliani Jewelers was shattered by thieves who used a hammer to steal jewelry, according to Fresno Police.

And the loud noise, which occurred around 3 p.m. next to the Victoria’s Secret store, caused some patrons to call 911 to report another shooting at the mall.

Police confirmed, though, that no shots were fired, and added that the three thieves did not use a gun.

Police said one of the thieves broke the glass and the other two gathered the loose jewelry before all three took off running.

Officers quickly detained one of the alleged thieves, who tried to discard some of the stolen jewelry before he was brought to a stop, according to police.

Police officers soon after arrived and arrested the suspect on suspicion of grand theft. The suspect’s name was not released but he was identified as a juvenile.

This is the second jewelry theft to occur at Fashion Fair in the past six weeks, with each incident mistaken for shots being fired.

On March 9, a glass display at Zee Jewelers was kicked in and caused several shoppers to rush out of the mall in a frenzy.

Just last weekend at Fashion Fair, shots were fired while two groups of men fought outside in the area near the Shoe Palace, Lush, Sephora and Morphe stores.

And back in January, a shooting occurred inside the mall after a man was confronted by a group of men.

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:50 PM.