Frisco police have given the all clear at the Dr Pepper Arena Friday afternoon after a daylong search for three people believed to be involved in the robbery of a nearby family-owned jewelry store.
Police said just before noon that three armed men entered Markham Fine Jewelers at 8355 Gaylord Parkway at about 10 a.m. and held the employees at gunpoint as they robbed the store.[[303904931,C]]
After the robbery, the men escaped in a car that was soon spotted by a Frisco police officer. The officer followed the car to one of the two 1000-space parking garages at the nearby Dr Pepper Arena.
A perimeter was set up by Frisco police and SWAT and the facility was locked down.
From Chopper 5, several officers armed with long guns were seen positioned outside of the arena and on nearby rooftops. A short time later, an armored SWAT vehicle arrived and several heavily armed officers wearing body armor were seen entering the building.
Officers, including SWAT and K-9 officers, began searching the arena and parking garage for the three people
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During a news conference at about 4:15 p.m., Frisco police said an exhaustive search of the arena and parking structures were conducted, but the three men were not found. Police said how the men escaped is under investigation and that they hope camera footage will provide some clues.
The getaway car, which police said they located in the parking garage, turned out to be stolen.
The arena contains the executive offices for the NHL's Dallas Stars, which was part of the evacuation after it was initially locked down. The Dallas Morning News' Stars blogger Mike Heika tweeted players Jamie Benn, Jason Demers and Ales Hemsky were in the building during the lock down but were eventually allowed to leave with the rest of the staff.
Roads around the facility that were closed to traffic during the lock down have been reopened. Additionally, all events at nearby facilities and affected business have resumed normal operations, police said.
Police said they do not have a description of the people being sought in connection with the robbery.
The Dr Pepper Arena is a multipurpose sports and entertainment facility that, in addition to housing the offices for the Stars, is also the team's home practice facility. It is also the home of the Texas Legends Basketball Team -- the Dallas Mavericks D-League team. The 6,000-seat arena hosts concerts, shows and many other events as well as hockey and basketball.
NBC 5's Catherine Ross and Katy Blakey contributed to this report.
