At least four North Side businesses were targeted in a series of break-ins in the early morning on Thursday.
The burglaries occurred in the 2400 and 2500 blocks of N Clark St and N Halsted in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, according to police.
Around 4:30 a.m., a witness who saw a suspect fleeing one of the businesses called the police. Responding officers found property from the businesses, including broken glass and cash registers, littered throughout the neighborhood.
Surveillance cameras captured a man casing the Bacci Pizzeria, in the 2500 block of N Halsted around dawn. He’s seen throwing a large rock through the glass door, shattering it. Footage then captures him running into the restaurant, grabbing the register, and storming out.
"It all happened maybe within 10 seconds,” said Jenna Colella the owner of Bacci Pizzeria.
“It's sad,” she added. “It really is. This is like our second home. You take it personal.”
Bacci was the burglars’ last stop in a spree of break-ins. The offenders also struck at Angela’s Burrito, in the 2500 block of N Clark St.
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“I feel very upset,” said Gurco Bautista, owner of Angela's Burrito. “11 years, almost 12 here and it never happened like this.”
Bautista said the thieves took just 100 dollars in coins.
All the owners say they never leave cash overnight, but that doesn’t stop thieves in the area.
“Last year they tried to get in through the back side,” said Joe Baek, who owns House of Wings, which was also targeted. Baek says he will now invest in better security.
No one is in custody for the burglaries, according to police, and the investigation is ongoing.