Thieves in West Town have been brazen in their late-night heists, targeting ATMs with a persistence that residents find unnerving. In the trend's latest incident, a 24-hour Citgo gas station at 1535 West Grand became the newest scene of such a crime around 3:10 a.m. Police said, three men drove a white four-door sedan up to the store, heaved the ATM into their vehicle, and took off. Just hours before the heist, a community alert was issued that connected this incident to a string of similar ATM thefts across the city, as reported by CWB Chicago.
On the lookout for such acts, Chicago police patrolling the area saw the crew driving away, holding the gray Toyota they sped away in, which was possibly flanked by a white Mazda. However, the quick response was not enough to prevent the crew from escaping with the machine. The latest in a series of operations which include a stolen ATM from another West Town gas station earlier on Thursday and one from a Logan Square business on Monday, as documented by Fox 32 Chicago. The sequence of thefts has raised alarms over the past three weeks.
The elusive perpetrators have been described by the police as comprising three Black males and a Black female, all aged between 20 and 30, and standing at 5'6" to 5'8" tall with weights ranging from 170 to 190 pounds. The tactic of dragging ATMs to sedans, executed with unsettling regularity, hints at a calculated operation lying beneath the surface. Area Five detectives are currently investigating the string of burglaries, urging anyone with information to reach out at 312-746-7394.
