Burglary suspect shot inside jewelry store; several other stores impacted in Horsham shopping strip

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — A man was shot after multiple people tried to break into a Montgomery County jewelry store on Wednesday morning, according to police.

Police were dispatched to the Jems Jewels and Gold store on Route 309 (Bethlehem Pike) near Lower State Road around 5 a.m. for a report of a shooting. The store has a North Wales mailing address but is in the Shoppes at English Village shopping center in Horsham Township.

An employee “encountered a suspect inside the store unlawfully and a gun was discharged,” Horsham police wrote in a news release.

Officers who arrived at the store found the suspect, who had been shot in the arm. The person was taken to a hospital and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police say “an unknown number of additional suspects fled the area before the arrival of police.”

Residents were asked to avoid the area to allow officers to complete their investigation. The lot reopened after 7 a.m.

The store was not scheduled to open until 10 a.m., according to its website.

Police said several stores “were affected by the burglars” actions and could not open for business.