The lead gives all the most important info first. I know right away when the robbery happened, where, and what kind of store was effected. I also know that this article will likely cover the concerns of neighboring businesses in addition to the robbery.
The next few paragraphs give the most important details first, describing what is known about the robbery, who specifically was involved, etc.
In the following graphs, quotes from those affected not only add to the information but give the story a personal touch. These kinds of details are important, but not quite as crucial as the robbery information.
The article's final few graphs discuss the concerns that area businesses now have about being robbed and some security measures being taken, and the article closes with a relevant detail, but one that is the least essential to the story, a statistic about robberies and homicides in Omaha.
The killing of a jewelry store owner during an apparent robbery attempt Wednesday has caused some neighboring shops to beef up security and shocked people in the industry.
James R. Minshall Sr., 71, the owner of JR’s Jewelry & Gifts, across 72nd Street from the Nebraska Furniture Mart, died of his wounds shortly after the shooting.
The
shooting was unusual for jewelry store robberies, experts say, because
the trend has been toward frightening, but less violent, smash-and-grab
robberies.
Authorities haven’t released many details on the shooting at the store in the 72nd Crossing shopping plaza.
Seann Wirth said his father-in-law, JR’s employee James Onik, was in the store and told him that it was a botched robbery.
Wirth
said Onik told him that there was a customer and a couple of other
employees in the store when the robber walked in. The man threw a bag on
the floor, drew a gun and ordered the employees to put jewelry in the
bag.
While
one employee began to do so, Minshall made a movement toward the safe,
Wirth said. The robber fired three shots toward Minshall, striking him
twice in the torso and hitting a file cabinet nearby.
The man then ran out of the store — without any jewelry.
“He had nothing but murder on his hands,” Wirth said.
An
employee of the Big Lots store, also in the 72nd Crossing shopping
center, said he saw a man run from the jewelry store, hop a fence and
continue running. Police arrived shortly after.
Police
got a call at 10:26 a.m. to send help to the jewelry store at 721 S.
72nd St., said Officer Michael Pecha, an Omaha police spokesman.
Later
Wednesday, police were looking for a gray Cadillac that was seen going
south on 72nd Street. They were also reviewing security tapes at the
Nebraska Furniture Mart and other stores in the area.
Jewelry
store robberies in which employees are killed are unusual, said John
Kennedy, president of the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, a national
nonprofit trade association that tracks robberies nationwide.
Kennedy said the number of employees killed has declined as more robberies become the smash-and-grab type.
That’s
what happened last week in Omaha. On Sept. 9, four men entered
Gunderson’s Jewelry at 17225 Davenport St. in Village Pointe. They broke
into glass cases, stole numerous pieces of jewelery and ran. The
robbers haven’t been caught.
Nationwide
in 2013, there were six homicides at jewelry stores, and five of those
killed were jewelers, according to the alliance. There were two the year
before, and both were jewelers, the alliance says.
“In
the early ’90s, there were 37 homicides (per year), now we’re down to
mid-single digits,” Kennedy said. “It’s still very tragic — we want it
to be zero — but it’s no comparison to what it was.”
In
2006, Omaha jeweler Larry Gilinsky was shot as he chased a robber from
his store, Bergman Jewelers. Gilinsky, president of Bergman Jewelers,
said he chased after the fleeing thief, who suddenly turned around and
shot Gilinsky in his ankle and above his eye. .
Today, Gilinsky says it was foolish to try to catch the thief.
“I
shouldn’t have done it, but it’s a knee-jerk reaction. Somebody has
violated you, and you go after him,” Gilinksy, 73, said. “Bottom line,
you do whatever they tell you to do, but it’s really hard to bite your
lip when you can see them go out the door.”
Gilinsky
said Minshall’s death is a loss to the jewelry community. The two had
known each other for 50 years and grew up in the business in different
jewelry stores downtown. He said JR’s Jewelry & Gifts was a
family-run store.
Minshall’s
son James Minshall Jr. even called Gilinsky to warn him that the robber
was still loose. Gilinsky said it’s normal for the jewelry community to
band together and share information.
Mike
Meacham, an insurance agent for Jewelers Mutual Insurance and
Minshall’s agent for about 25 years, said he recommends several security
measures to protect against robberies.
Some
stores have a high-security vestibule from which clients must be
buzzed in by employees while others install a simple sensor that sounds
when the door opens. He couldn’t say what security features JR’s has.
Meacham
said he recommends against having firearms in a shop and suggests that
workers call police after the robber has left. The reason: avoid a
hostage situation.
That
is effectively what happened recently at a Wendy’s restaurant in Omaha,
when police went inside as a robber held a pellet gun on an employee.
Two people were killed, including the robber.
Employees of shops in the 72nd Crossing area plan to watch their businesses more closely from now on.
Herb
Eveland, owner of Tuva Enterprises, a memorabilia shop next door to
JR’s, said he already has multiple cameras, security systems and
insurance. He said this kind of tragedy goes with the business.
“I’m not worried. ... I’ll probably look over my back a little more, but I always do that,” he said.
Eveland said he had known Minshall for about 15 years and said all interactions with his business neighbor had been friendly.
“Jim
always laughed and smiled when I saw him,” Eveland said. “He was the
nicest guy on the planet. Why does this have to happen?”
Ginny Peterson, manager of the nearby Russell Stover Candies, said she plans to build on the security already in place.
Bill
Blair, the co-executive director of the Nebraska-South Dakota Jewelers
Association, said that in robberies, protecting the merchandise is
second to saving employees’ lives.
“There’s
nothing in your store that’s worth your life to give them whatever they
want,” he said. “It’s definitely an unusual thing because most jewelers
have heard this often enough: that they do whatever it takes to get the
guy and what he wants out the door.”
Minshall’s death is the 21st homicide in Omaha this year. There were 33 homicides at the same time in 2013.
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