The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation into a string of break-ins that occurred overnight at a strip mall located in the northern suburbs.
Authorities were alerted to the burglaries at approximately 2:54 a.m. on Thursday, taking place in the unincorporated area of Des Plaines.
Employees and business owners reported to ABC7 that the perpetrators forcibly entered by shattering doors and windows, swiftly made off with cash, and fled the scene.
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A total of seven businesses experienced break-ins at the intersection of Ballard and Potter in unincorporated Maine Township, specifically in the 9300 block of Ballard Road, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Surveillance footage captured one of these incidents, showing a masked individual entering a small grocery store through a broken glass door, vaulting over the counter, seizing cash, and making a quick exit.
Investigators revealed that four suspects were involved, systematically targeting seven businesses throughout the night by smashing glass doors and windows to gain entry.
Julieta Krohn, part-owner and cashier at La Guadalupana Mercado, says thieves took about fifty dollars but caused them hundreds of dollars-worth of damage.
“I thought it was only this store but we find out that it was the entire mall from one corner to another,” Krohn said. “For nothing. They destroyed a lot stores for some change probably and we got stuck with it.”
Krohn says they just opened their shop a month ago and were devastated when they got the call.
“You come in the morning and you just see your store being destroyed. Everything was on the floor, everything,” Krohn said. “They took chips-everything was a mess in here.”
Investigators shared images of a silver Toyota the four suspects got away in.
Anyone with information that could help the Cook County Sheriff’s Office has been asked to contact detectives.
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