A man has died after he was restrained by members of the public as he attempted to rob a jeweller's store, according to police.
At 9.15am yesterday, two men wearing motorcycle helmets targeted John Gowing Jewellers in the Covered Market, Oxford, in an attempted robbery.
One of the men, Clinton Townsend, 33, from Headington, Oxford, was restrained but the other managed to flee the shop.
The attempted raid happened in Oxford's Covered Market
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said that Townsend was taken in a serious condition to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he died on Sunday afternoon.
Local shopkeepers have described how they saw paramedics attempting to resuscitate the man as he was taken by stretcher to the ambulance.
A post-mortem examination is set to be carried out to establish a cause of death.
Police have also arrested two men, aged 31 and 32, on suspicion of robbery who remain in police custody for questioning.
It is believed that nothing was stolen in the raid.
Detective Superintendent Chris Ward, leading the investigation, said: "This is very much still an active investigation and there are a number of people helping us with our enquiries.
"We have specially trained officers working with all those involved in this incident."
Mr Ward added: "We know that the offenders arrived at the Covered Market on a motorcycle and then one of the men pushed the bike as they walked towards the jewellers.
"This motorcycle is a green Kawasaki ZX600, registration S618 UCL, and was stolen from an address in Botley Road at around 11am on 27 March."
He continued: "At this stage we believe that members of the public restrained one of the offenders, while the other ran away, leaving the Covered Market via Turl Street.
"As the man ran away, he discarded his helmet and some clothing we have subsequently recovered in Blue Boar Street.
"It appears that the man has then got on a bus in the city centre and then got off in the area of St Clements.
"We would especially like to speak to anyone who might have seen a man who ran away from the scene, or the men before the robbery happened."
Yaseen Yusef, who works at Tim's Newsagents in the Covered Market, said that it was believed the robber might have suffered a heart attack during the raid.
He said: "He was still being resuscitated as he was stretchered on the way to the ambulance.
"He was a big bloke with a tattoo. We have heard he may have had a heart attack, maybe as he was being wrestled to the ground."
A member of staff at John Gowing Jewellers told the Oxford Mail: "All members of staff are okay - this has been a shock, absolutely."
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