Thieves use roof to break into Tennessee jewelry store

The family that runs a Halls jewelry store said Monday a heist that netted up to $1 million in jewelry was likely a professional hit by two burglars who could have ripped their plan straight from a Hollywood blockbuster.

Janice Enix, wife of Enix Jewelers President William Enix, said that, sometime after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, two suspects cut through the store's roof and dropped inside the building.

The suspects then cut the wires to the security system and proceeded to use one or more torches to cut their way into the store's safe, Enix said.

"They used seven fi ve-gallon bottles of our water to keep the fire from breaking out and the smoke alarms from going off," she said. "They took just about everything we own. All kinds of jewelry - necklaces, pendants, bracelets, watches, earrings."

Enix said that Knox County Sheriff's Offi ce detectives found two sets of footprints at the scene and are reviewing footage from video cameras that might have caught a glimpse of the suspects.

According to Enix, it's still too soon to tell how the heist

will affect the store's future.

"We do have some insurance, but you cannot insure everything in the store," she said. "We've kept the stuff protected as much as possible. I can't think of anything we could have done any differently."

An employee discovered the theft shortly after 9 a.m. when the employee arrived to prepare for the 10 a.m. opening of the store, which is at 6927A Maynardville Pike, said Knox County Sheriff's Offi ce spokeswoman Ashley Carrigan.

The employee grew concerned when the chiming sound of the store alarm was not emitted when the employee entered. The employee went to the back of the business and discovered a safe had been entered, Carrigan said.