A brazen crew of safe-snatching burglars is rattling Minneapolis bar and shop owners after surveillance video caught thieves dragging a heavy safe out of a Northeast watering hole in just a few minutes. Police say the same fast, methodical style may tie together a growing list of smash-and-grabs across the metro, and jittery owners are replaying camera footage and rechecking alarms while investigators sort through clues.
According to CBS News Minnesota, investigators reviewed video from Lush Bar and Theatre that shows burglars breaking in and hauling away a safe in under four minutes. Minneapolis police believe roughly 15 businesses around the metro have been hit in similar late-night break-ins, and detectives are trying to figure out whether the same group is behind the wider pattern.
Surveillance footage obtained by KSTP shows three masked people smashing a ground-level window, racing upstairs to a locked office, then using a crowbar to pry loose a manager's safe. One person appears to fiddle with the safe while another helps guide it down the stairs, the bar’s owners told the station, and within about three minutes the trio is out the door with the safe in tow. The quick, laser-focused nature of the job has owners worried the burglars knew exactly where cash and records were kept.
Owners Say They Felt Targeted
“It feels kind of like a personal attack as a queer space,” one co-owner told KSTP, calling the break-in especially gutting as the venue gears up for Pride-season events. The thieves dragged the safe down a full flight of stairs and out the front door, leaving part of the building damaged and staff shaken. Nearby businesses have also reported suspicious activity in recent weeks, and owners say they are swapping footage and alarm logs like trading cards, trying to spot patterns before the burglars come back.
Police Are Asking for Tips
Minneapolis police have taken reports and are urging any business with potentially relevant surveillance footage to share it with investigators, CBS News Minnesota reports. So far there have been no arrests, and investigators have not released suspect descriptions while they work to connect evidence from multiple scenes. Authorities are asking anyone with information or video to contact the Minneapolis Police Department.
How Businesses Are Responding
Owners in the affected neighborhoods say they are double-checking alarm systems, backing up camera clips in more than one place, and coordinating with nearby shops to keep an eye out for suspicious people or vehicles. Security pros point out that moving safes into reinforced rooms, keeping less cash on site, and making sure cameras clearly cover doors and windows can help, although upgrades like that can be a financial stretch for small, independent operators. For now, business owners say all eyes are on the footage and the police investigation, hoping the fast, targeted thefts do not turn into the new normal after dark.
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