Two men, one brandishing a handgun, stole various pieces of jewelry from Zales at the Owings Mills Mall on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at approximately 8:40 p.m.

The men entered the store, presented a handgun and told employees they were being robbed. They stole several pieces of jewelry and fled in an unknown direction, according to a police report.

Bare Feet Shoes was robbed by two armed men on Sept. 4, but police don’t believe the incidents to be connected because of differences in the suspect descriptions, according to Lt. Stephen Doarnberger, assistant commander of the Baltimore County Police’s Franklin Precinct.

In May, a man wearing a suit and tie held up Zales at gunpoint and took approximately 50 rings valued at $116,000. He was later arrested and charged.

Doarnberger said that suspects who rob malls often commit similar crimes regionally, but police have not heard of similar incidents in the county or state.

“We’re concerned any time we have a violent crime, whether it’s a robbery or serious assault,” he said. “But often times with the mall robberies, it will involve people who specialize in that, and we haven’t seen that though. So why they chose this mall at this time I can’t say.”

Baltimore County Police’s Franklin Precinct is experiencing its first commercial robbery trend in two years. Seven businesses—Zales being the seventh—have been robbed at gunpoint since August 8. Police believe five of the incidents—not including Zales and Bare Feet Shoes—are connected.

Surveillance photos of the man who robbed a Sunoco in Owings Mills were released by police on Monday, Sept. 10. The investigation is still ongoing, and the precinct has devoted additional resources to the effort, Doarnberger said.