A brazen smash-and-grab heist at a Tempe smoke shop has left the owner grappling with extensive damage after burglars used a stolen car to ram into the building and steal a horde of vape pens. The break-in, which took place early Sunday morning, was captured by the store's surveillance cameras and showed the thieves swiftly executing the theft and escaping in a second vehicle. FOX 10 Phoenix reports that the crime involved a stolen truck from Phoenix.
Fadi Sayed, the owner of the vandalized shop, described to AZ Family the shock of discovering through security footage a car "parked right in the middle of the store," he woke to a security company's call that alerted him to the break-in, and the store's broken window and metal bars alone they are estimated over $30,000 to replace, adding to the financial strain the stolen items and broken merchandise piled up another couple thousand dollars in losses. Sayed, who took the risk of opening his store through a side door amidst the chaos, underscored the urgency of keeping the business running in today's economy, saying, "We can’t close. We can’t afford to close."
The Tempe police are now on the hunt for suspects, with no leads reported as of yet. The devastation at the smoke shop was described by customers who arrived later in the day as looking like the aftermath of a tornado. Amid the destruction, Sayed exhibited a sense of resolve, focusing on recuperating losses and restoring his business while offering a sizable $30,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest. "Tomorrow’s a new day. You know, we’re going to pick up the pieces and, you know, things will be better than before, hopefully," Sayed told FOX 10 Phoenix.
The situation took a bizarre turn when, during the robbery, a video captured a man unwittingly walking into the shop as the robbery was taking place, seeking an explanation for the chaos but was flatly ignored by the thief, who continued to load the getaway car. As per the store owner's recount, the entire incident unfolded in under two minute,s with the perpetrators managing to make one more trip back into the store before fleeing the scene, the shaken business owner is currently contending with both the tangible and intangible costs of the crime. "I couldn’t believe the damage. Like seeing it on the camera is nothing compared to actually walking in and seeing the devastation," Sayed lamented in his interview with AZ Family.
