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Robbers smash display cases, escape with loot from Berlin's famed KaDeWe store

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Police officers stand in front of the 'KaDeWe' (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014. Police say robbers struck at Berlin's famous KaDeWe, smashing display cases and running off with their loot. Police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt said the luxury department store on Kurfuerstendamm avenue was robbed by four men Saturday morning soon after it opened. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

A police car stands in front of the 'KaDeWe' (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014. Police say robbers struck at Berlin's famous KaDeWe, smashing display cases and running off with their loot. Police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt said the luxury department store on Kurfuerstendamm avenue was robbed by four men Saturday morning soon after it opened. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

A police car stands in front of the 'KaDeWe' (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014. Police say robbers struck at Berlin's famous KaDeWe, smashing display cases and running off with their loot. Police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt said the luxury department store on Kurfuerstendamm avenue was robbed by four men Saturday morning soon after it opened. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

Police say robbers struck at Berlin's famous KaDeWe department store, smashing display cases and running off with their loot.

Police spokeswoman Heidi Vogt said the luxury department store on glitzy Kurfuerstendamm avenue was robbed by four men Saturday morning soon after it opened.

Vogt said the robbers fled by car, and it wasn't immediately clear what they had stolen. She said several people were treated for pepper gas sprayed by the bandits.

KaDeWe — an abbreviation for "department store of the west" — is one of the city's top tourist destinations. It's world-famous for its high-end luxury items and its sixth floor grocery department with different bistros selling everything from fresh oysters to Bavarian meat loaf.