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Vintage Faire Mall employees describe chaotic moments during smash-and-grab robbery

Mall employees say they heard what sounded like gunshots echo through the Modesto mall and went to shelter in place in the back rooms of their stores Sunday night.

MODESTO, Calif. — Police are still working to track down the people who robbed a jewelry store at the Vintage Faire Mall in Modesto Sunday night.

They say something similar happened just hours later at the same jewelry store two hours away near San Jose.

"We were so scared. We were like, 'Someone is shooting,' that's immediately what we thought," Nina Ceja, an employee at "Glamify Me" inside of the Vintage Faire Mall said.

RELATED: Police searching for 4 men responsible for smash-and-grab robbery at Modesto jewelry store

Workers at the mall are still on edge after hearing what they thought were gunshots inside of the mall Sunday night.

"All we heard and what we knew was we thought we heard gunshots and we also heard several people outside that were shopping in the mall saying that 'they're shooting,'" Ismarai Lopez, an employee at Glamify Me said.

Ceja and Lopez say they locked the doors and sheltered in place in the back of their cosmetics store for 30 minutes until they were told it was safe to come out.

"We were like both having an anxiety attack. We were crying. We were shaking. We were just really scared like this is really happening right now," Ceja said.

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Police say there wasn't a shooting, but rather four suspects, all caught on camera, using a sledgehammer to break the glass display cases at the Valliani jewelry store.

"I saw mothers grabbing their children, and parents grabbing their child running out and people trying to get into stores just so they could get in safe," said mall employee Jonathan Mora.

Mora works at the Sprint kiosk next door to the jewelry store.

"I was at Buffalo on our lunch and what I saw was just people running. It was all just hectic and it all happened so fast, but I was actually running towards it to make sure everyone I worked with was safe," he said.

Only a few hours later, another Valliani jewelry store was targeted in the San Jose area at the Great Mall. Modesto police say, while the circumstances are similar, they are still investigating if these two incidents are connected.

And while the search continues for these suspects, mall employees are staying on high alert.

"Every day we come to the mall to work, we're risking our life honestly because this is a target. This is always going to be a target. Big places where there's a lot of [people] is always going to be a target now and it's sad," Ceja said.

If you have any information regarding this investigation, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tipsters may also text information to Crime Stoppers at 274637. Just type "TIP704" along with your message.

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WATCH MORE: Police searching for 4 men responsible for smash-and-grab robbery at Modesto jewelry store

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