James Yoon walked up to Miller’s Jewelry Supply Inc. Thursday to buy a replacement part for a piece of equipment. He stopped in front of the darkened family-run shop and frowned as another jeweler approached.
“They’re closed today,” the jeweler said. “Someone beat their father.”
A Loop jewelry-supply business owner was bound and savagely beaten at his Sauganash residence, Chicago police said.
Two armed men stormed into Shai Miller’s home about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday and tied him and his 14-year-old son up with duct tape, police said. The intruders beat Miller, who was taken in critical condition to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston with a brain hemorrhage, officials said.
According to preliminary police reports, the two fled with jewelry, silverware and a painting. Police said they have no one in custody.
Miller owns a business at 5 S. Wabash Ave. that supplies jewelers with display cases and jewelry-making equipment, according to state records.
News of the attack on one of their own rippled along Jeweler’s Row, a section on Wabash teeming with merchants selling diamond rings, necklaces and watches.
“A lot of people are just shocked and distraught,” said Zofia Ruzyc, a jeweler. “He’s definitely an old-school Chicago jeweler. He’s not afraid to let you know what’s on his mind, but he’s a sweetheart.”