A pack of thieves phoned in a fake call to 911 and successfully distracted police long enough to get away with a jewelry-store heist in the Willowbrook area of Houston.

Last Tuesday afternoon, first responders showed up at a shopping mall after a woman had called 911 to report a man with a gun in a movie theater. Upon their arrival, police found no sign of a gunman or the person who made the call, according to Click2Houston.com.

Meanwhile, just two blocks away, a group of four or five armed robbers burst into a jewelry store teeming with Christmas shoppers. One man commanded customers to lie on the floor, while another smashed the glass display cases and yet another kept a close eye on the heist’s timing.

“I'd have never known [about the robbery] unless you'd told me,” said one man who was shopping at the jewelry store on Friday. “I’m more worried when I'm walking out into the parking lot. They have a guy in there, so I feel pretty safe.”

Police said the bandits were well-disguised with their heads and faces covered, but they also indicated that their routine had been captured by surveillance cameras in the store. Investigators have not revealed whether the robbery, which clearly was well-planned and -executed, was connected with any other crimes in the area, Click2Houston.com reported.

The robbers reportedly swiped more than $1 million worth of jewelry.

The phone call that preceded the robbery clearly indicates the bandits decided to use the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., to their own advantage.

No one was reported hurt during the robbery.

Christmas