In a foiled attempt, two men headed to steal a highly valuable Claude Monet painting from the Zaans Museum in Zaandam, Netherlands. According to the Dutch Police, the robbers fled empty-handed. 

“Gunshots were fired during the botched raid at the Zaans Museum in Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam, though nobody was injured in the incident,” a police statement confirmed. 

The oil painting, Monet’s “The Voorzaan and the Westerhem,” is currently being inspected for damage, the museum told CNN over email.

According to CNN affiliate NOS’ reports, bystanders and the museum staff intervened in the attempted robbery, taking place at around 10:30 am on Sunday, and successfully stopped the theft. The Police later recovered the black scooter that the robbers had fled in.

“We are relieved to say that nobody got hurt and that they were unable to steal anything,” the museum’s acting director Marieke Verweij told CNN via email. He added that staff was left “very shocked” by the incident. Furthermore, the museum was temporarily closed on Monday. While it reopened to visitors on Tuesday, the painting has now been removed from the “Monet in Zanndam” exhibition.

“We are currently investigating if the painting has been damaged (in) the incident, meaning we are unable to put it on display at the moment,” Verweij said.

Both suspects remain at large, and Dutch police have issued a call for witnesses.

The painting depicts boats floating along the River Zaan. The museum had earlier purchased the painting in 2015 for over 1.16 million euros ($1.36 million). Claude Monet painted the river scene on a trip to Zaandam in 1871. The view captured is that from the jetty of a hotel where the painter stayed with his family. The French artist ended up being so inspired by Zaandam that he produced 25 paintings and nine sketches of the city, according to the museum.