Crash-and-grab burglars use Jeep to steal ATM from Chicago gas station
By Lauren Victory, Sabrina Franza
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CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — Crash-and-grab burglars stole an ATM from a River North gas station early Tuesday morning, Chicago police say.
The clerk at the BP gas station at Chicago Avenue and Wells Street said he was working inside just after 5 a.m. when a white Jeep smashed the front doors of the minimart, then backed up and rammed them again. As this was happening, another car pulled up.
The clerk said he realized the person behind the wheel wanted the ATM inside the store. He said they smashed the doors, snagged the machine and hopped into a getaway car in a matter of seconds.
Police said the suspects fled in the other car, leaving the Jeep at the scene. The clerk was not hurt and no other injuries were reported, police said.
A few regulars stopping by for gas and their lottery tickets were shocked and saddened to see the scene. Some were angry on behalf of the gas station owner, shaking their heads at the mess left behind in yet another Chicago smash-and-grab.
“It sucks. It’s a shame,” said bystander Johnny Burchfield. “You know, businesses getting hit, prices go up, and at the end, we pay for this damage.”
A tow truck hauled the Jeep away just before 9 a.m., and the gas station reopened for business around the same time.
It was unclear how much money was inside the stolen ATM. An investigation is ongoing.
Last week there was a similar crime in the South Loop, where a group also used a Jeep to crash into a convenience store and take the ATM there. They then fled and left the Jeep at the scene.
Those two incidents are among four in the last few weeks that involved ATM theft. Chicago police said burglars crashed into the Golden Apple Grille and Breakfast House in Lakeview while it was open to steal their ATM. And then on March 20 three people broke into Lincoln Park Food & Liquor, pulling the grate open and taking an ATM there as well.
While the crimes are similar, CPD have not connected the four incidents as involving the same people.
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