Chicago police are investigating after thieves stole an ATM from at Hawkeye's Bar & Grill near Taylor and Laflin, the latest in a string of ATM thefts across the city.
Security video shows someone throwing a rock through a glass door, and a group of people entered the restaurant and stole the cash machine.
The ATM theft follows a string of similar crimes that happened early this morning in a span of 30 minutes.
Shortly after 3 a.m., Chicago police say four people broke the front window of a CVS store near Lake and Carpenter with a cinder block and tried to steal a machine there. The machine was bolted to the ground, and the thieves were forced to abandon the theft.
Minutes earlier, Chicago police said a similar group tried to steal an ATM from the West Loop Mart.
The owner’s son watched the security video, saying that he had “never seen anyone go for an ATM. "
"They brought a cinder block with them they were throwing it at the glass they weren’t able to break through because it was reinforced," he said.
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Just south of the scene of that attempted burglary, Chicago police say a group of four people broke a glass door and stole a cash register from inside a Shell station near Van Buren and Racine.
Although Chicago police have not officially linked the thefts together, the description of the thefts is consistent, with thieves gaining entry by smashing front windows and then fleeing the scene in a dark-colored sedan.
"Four guys came in, broke the door and targeted the ATM," Nick Patel of BWS Beverage said.
Security video captured a small masked group stealing the ATM machine from the store in River West.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Chicago police.
