Jewellery store owner undergoes emergency brain surgery after being attacked by hammer-wielding thugs
A jewellery store owner has undergone emergency brain surgery after he was hit in the head with a hammer when four men ambushed his boutique.
Police said the masked men entered Shree Ganesh Jewellers on Gympie Road, in the northern suburb of Chermside, shortly after 5pm on Tuesday.
Owner Bijaya Sunar was struck several times in the head with a hammer.
His wife, Samita Subarnkar Sunar, also inside the store at the time.
The robbers, who were armed with hammers and metal bars, allegedly smashed a number of glass cabinets and stole a large amount of jewellery.
They then fled the store in a grey Honda CR-V station wagon.
Mr Sunar was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a stable condition and underwent emergency surgery to remove a haematoma on his brain overnight.
His family were waiting to speak to neurologists on Wednesday morning.
The jewellery store has a buzzer system in place where customers are asked to ring a bell at the door before they can be admitted inside.
It's understood the alleged thieves waited until a mother and child entered the store, before they pushed past them, 7News reported.
Shree Ganesh Jewellers specialises in 24 carat and 22 carat handmade jewellery and also offers custom pieces, repairs and exchanges.
Queensland Police have launched an investigation into the armed robbery.
A crime scene has been established at the Chermside shop.
No arrests have been made at this stage.
Police believe the Honda was stolen from a property in Calamvale on Sunday.
Anyone with dashcam or CCTV of the area in the moments leading up to or after the incident, has been urged to contact police.
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