Local
Chicago police investigate 20-plus break-ins targeting neighborhood shops
More than 20 businesses were burglarized overnight, with most of the break-ins on Chicago’s Northwest Side. Owners reported shattered storefronts and costly damage, while police said no arrests had been made.
Chicago police are investigating more than 20 overnight burglaries reported Wednesday, Oct. 14, most of them on the city’s Northwest Side. Investigators said four people used bricks and other heavy objects to smash storefront windows, and a red sedan believed to be stolen was used in the break-ins.
At about 6 a.m., a worker at Terra Coffee in Avondale was inside alone when a brick came through the front door. The barista hid, then encountered the intruder; the two ran in opposite directions, co-owner Jocelyn Telles said. Telles said the worker was deeply shaken by the encounter.
Two other businesses in the same shopping plaza, including a Subway and a nail salon, were also broken into. Telles said the coffee shop had a warning sign noting that it kept no cash and had security cameras, but that did not stop the break-in.
In Portage Park, Fry the Coop sustained about $4,000 in damage, and its cash register was ripped out. General manager Lewis Tovar said the thieves likely took no more than $10. He said the restaurant had been burglarized before.
Migos Fine Foods, also in Portage Park, was among the businesses hit. One suspect wearing a distinctive sweatshirt was seen inside several stores, police said. Owner Azazi Morsi questioned how neighborhood businesses could keep building community and making a living amid repeated damage and theft.
Surveillance video is available from the targeted businesses, but police had made no arrests at the time of the report. The incidents left owners facing repair costs even where little money appeared to have been taken.