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A gang of five masked thugs armed with hammers have robbed a Melbourne jewellery store in broad daylight - the shop's second attack in three months.
Five bandits burst into the H & H jewellery outlet in Elsternwick as terrified customers shopped about 3.10pm on Tuesday afternoon, police say.
The men used metal poles and hammers to violently smash counters and display cabinets before stuffing jewellery into bags and running out.They then jumped into a white Jeep and fled the scene at high speeds. The five men remain on the run.
Four staff and two customers were in the store but no injuries were reported.
A man from a nearby toy store was seen on CCTV trying to stop the men as they fled but he was pushed to the ground.Witness Marcelle Lhuillier said people were shoved out of the way as they stormed the store.
'They ran out and sort of pushed me out of the way but the guy from Toy World copped it more than me, Ms Lhuillier told the Nine Network.
'They were just on a mission, just getting in and getting out very quickly.'
It's the second attack on the store this year. It was targeted in January 4 by three men armed with a gun and a machete.
In that robbery, staff were threatened and the men stole jewellery before leaving the scene in a car without registration plates.
The gun was later aimed at a woman watching the three men flee in a getaway car.
Tuesday's raid comes less than a fortnight after three machete-wielding robbers stormed a Canterbury jewellery store in another repeat attack.
Police said in January the wave of jewellery store robberies across Melbourne may be linked to an organised network of crime gangs.