5 dead and 20 million lira stolen at a jewelry store in Burj Hammoud

A jewelry store robbery took place yesterday in Burj Hammoud, leaving 5 persons dead, with more than 20 million Lebanese lira worth of money.

The little information found after the investigation led by the security forces showed that the body of one of the owners of the business Hrant Kurkdjian, located above Panus bakery in Camp Merach – Burj Hammoud, was found. The bodies of 4 employees, Hani Zemmar, Maria Hanna Mekhayel, Khatoun Tekeyan, and Avedis Boyadjian, were also found lying in a sea of blood inside the store.

A number of investigators were called to investigate the crime scene: Walid Hachem, Emile Kiwan, and Jisr Beirut Police Station Chief and First Adjutant Ghassan Maalouf.

The preliminary results of the investigation showed that the perpetrators had opened fire using suppressed pistols, before “emptying” the store of all sorts of jewelry, crude and refined, estimated at 20 million lira. This is the biggest and most violent robbery job Lebanon has ever known.

Al Nahar Newspaper, 29 March 1985