Imported Article – 2026-04-24 10:37:39

This Thursday morning, April 23, three armed robbers attacked a jewelry store at the Auchan shopping center in Béziers. The three individuals and a driver then fled towards Bessan to abandon their car.

The Auchan shopping center on Avenue de la Voie-Domitienne in Béziers had just opened its doors when a Volkswagen Golf stopped in front of the entrance to the Oceanor jewelry store, to the left of the main entrance of the largest shopping mall in Béziers. The jewelry store is located in the Auchan shopping center, just behind the checkout lines. Three men then exited their vehicle. They entered the shopping center, while one person remained in the car. Two of them focused on the display cases, while the third stood guard with a shotgun in hand. “Everyone get down,” shouted the armed man to protect his accomplices’ work. The jewelry store employees were experiencing a robbery, in broad daylight, in front of a crowd of astonished witnesses.

“I only got scared when I realized,” said Dimitri, who was in the front row to witness the scene. “One of the three shouted for the customers to lie down. I think it was the guy with the gun who did that. Meanwhile, the other two, with a hammer, smashed the display cases to take everything inside. The cashier who was supposed to process my payment was so shocked that she froze. She only started moving again when the robbery was over. That’s when we realized what we had just experienced. I was only scared when I understood, because it all happened very quickly. I instinctively crouched down and saw that cashier who didn’t move an inch.” Meanwhile, the gallery’s security service had evacuated the customers, and some shops had lowered their shutters, enclosing their visitors to keep them safe.

On a video taken from a shelf that Midi Libre obtained, one can clearly see an armed man with a pump-action shotgun, wearing work clothes, a helmet, and a mask to conceal his face. In the store, two men, both hooded and gloved, one in camouflage, the other in protective gear, systematically emptied the display cases. There was no panic in their movements, nor any rush. “The armed man looked at us when the other two finished, they left. It was over. I don’t know if it lasted more than two minutes.”

A source close to the investigation confirms: “There was a certain determination to act and a very quick action. Given their methodology, they are certainly not amateurs.” The fleeing vehicle was found in the late morning on the road to Bessan, at the Saint-Thomas golf course. The suspects, who were supposed to be four, abandoned their car there, taking care to remove the license plates. “There is a very good chance that they prepared their operation well by arranging another vehicle to ensure their escape,” estimated a close source to the investigation. The investigation, initially led by the Béziers police station, was handed over to the judicial police in Montpellier. This information was confirmed by the public prosecutor of Béziers, Arnaud Faugère. Samples were supposed to be taken in the store, as well as in the abandoned vehicle. Now, the goal is to examine as many videos as possible to try to find the vehicle that was waiting for the thieves at the Saint-Thomas golf course.