Business owners in McKinley Park are on high alert after a series of commercial burglaries struck the neighborhood, as the Chicago Police Department reports. The offenders, described as four male individuals donning dark clothing, masks, and gloves, executed their thefts with a brashness bordering on audacity, striking the same block multiple times in the early hours of December 18, 2024.
The thieves, speaking in Spanish caught on video surveillance, have been gaining access through a method as violent as it is effective: breaking front glass windows or doors with mysterious implements, after which they have gone on to ransack the businesses for cash registers and money. The criminals carried out their activities at various locations all located on the 3100 block of S. Ashland Avenue, usually around the 2:19 a.m. mark.
According to the Chicago Police Department's business alert, the sequence of events has raised concerns among locals, prompting reminders to keep areas well-lit, and doors and windows secured. In the futile aftermath where a breach has occurred, officials urge business owners to not disturb the crime scene but to call authorities immediately, allowing them to possibly glean vital information in the footsteps of the transgressors.
These disruptions to the peace of small business owners come with a vehicle leaving its signature at the scenes – a stolen black Hyundai Elantra with distinctive chrome rims has been identified. Residents and business owners are advised to take measures of precaution and are reminded to surrender any video evidence to the detectives working on the case.
