Someone broke into a Shenango Valley Mall department store shortly before midnight Monday and cleaned out several jewelry cases and tie racks, according to Hermitage police.

The burglar or burglars shattered glass doors on the east side of Kaufmann's at about 11:20 p.m. and headed directly for the store's jewelry section, police said.

Police said every jewelry display case in the store was smashed open. A 3-foot-long pipe was left behind, police said.

While leaving the store, police said, the burglar or burglars grabbed a number of neckties.

Police did not estimate the total value of the stolen items this morning, saying that as of Tuesday the store had not taken an inventory to determine what was missing. The store typically removes its most valuable jewelry from the display cases and locks it up in a safe, police said.

Executives from the local store and a spokesman for the Pittsburgh-based department store were unavailable for comment this morning.

Police said the burglar or burglars who broke into the store stole a car from nearby JD Byrider prior to the heist, but left it in the parking lot outside Kaufmann's.

Some of the stolen jewelry and ties was found in the car, police said. Police said they did not know why the car was left behind or how the thieves got away.

The burglar or burglars were gone by the time police -- who responded to an alarm set off when the entrance doors were shattered -- arrived.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Tom Fontaine at tfontaine@sharon-herald.com