Vikram Bagga, owner of Bagga Jewellers in Edmonton, Alberta, puts down his telephone in his empty store after being robbed at gunpoint by three men on Wednesday, September 2, 2009. (Sun Media/Jordan Verlage)

EDMONTON -- The most horrifying moments of Vikram Bagga's life began when a man entered his jewellery store while pushing a wheelchair-confined pal.

In seconds, the store owner's life was in jeopardy when the shopper pulled out a firearm and his pal leapt from the chair, pulling out a shotgun.

"He almost shot me," Bagga said. "I almost died."

Following his attacker's demands, Bagga lifted his hands in the air and slowly backed into a corner as the thieves swiped about $100,000 in jewels, he said.

"Don't move," the gunman said, according to Bagga's account. "If you move, I will shoot you."

A third man burst into the store, smashing glass display cases with a hammer as the others rummaged through the jewels.

The Wednesday night hold-up at Bagga Jewellers had only just begun.

About 6:15 p.m., one of the men forced Bagga into a backroom washroom, he said.

Locked inside, the terrified victim pulled out his cellphone and dialed 9-1-1.

The operator kept asking questions and as he answered, the villains were listening.

"He's on the phone," one of the crooks allegedly yelled. "Shoot him."

And before he had a chance to take a breath, Bagga said, a robber was at the door, ready to follow the orders.

Bagga grabbed the gun and wrestled with his attacker. But the attacker had backup.

The bandit with the hammer allegedly joined in, smashing Bagga on the head with a hammer.

They left the 28-year-old with minor injuries, racing from the 9303 34 Ave. store with sacks of jewels.

Bagga knows he might have suffered a different fate and now has reservations about ever returning to work at the store.

"My wife wants me to do no more business," Bagga said. "She's scared. She's crying, crying, crying."

The thieves remain at large as police continue to hunt them down.

MICHELLE.THOMPSON@SUNMEDIA.CA