CHICAGO (WLS) — In the early hours of Tuesday, a group of individuals wreaked havoc in Hyde Park’s business district, shattering the peace as they targeted five storefronts. According to police, two of these locations suffered burglaries, prompting an urgent manhunt for the perpetrators.
Authorities report that the initial trio of break-ins unfolded between 2 and 3 a.m. along the 1600 block of East 55th Street.
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A subsequent incident occurred at 3 a.m. on the 1600 block of East 56th Street, followed by a final break-in at approximately 5:07 a.m. back on East 55th Street.
Despite the turmoil, Huaraches Mexican Restaurant continues to serve customers, even though its front door was destroyed during the incident.
Owner Andres Rangel arrived to find his establishment’s entrance shattered. Surveillance footage revealed the culprits swiftly executing their plan, spending just one minute inside around 3 a.m.
“They came in, took what they wanted, and left quickly,” Rangel recounted, noting they made off with cash from the register.
Rangel says the thieves took about $200, and it will cost five times that to pay for a new door. This all happened, he says, after the business has already experienced a downturn in business because of immigration enforcement action.
“Since September, our sales went down to 50%. And now, come to this,” Rangel said.
Huaraches, along with two other restaurants and a locksmith shop, all in the 1600-block of East 55th Street, were broken into early Tuesday. Phares Davis manages the security shop and is trying to make sense of what happened.
“What are you doing at 3 o’clock in the morning? Most folks are asleep, getting ready for the next morning, taking kids to school, work, things of that nature,” Davis said.
Dawn A.M. Eatery, located around the corner, was also hit. Racquel Fields is the owner, and says the thieves got away with a small amount of money, but the incident will not deter her from operating a business in a community she enjoys.
“Overwhelmingly, we’ve been very safe here. We’ve been very lucky. Dawn has been here two years. My other restaurant, 14 Parish, has been here five years, and we just don’t see this often,” Fields said.
Police said in each of the break-ins, the suspects broke or damaged the front door of the business before fleeing in an unknown direction.
No one is in custody, and Area One detectives are investigating.
Ald. Desmon Yancy, who represents the 5th Ward, says he is concerned about the impact crimes like this can have on small businesses and encourages anyone with information about what happened to share it with police.
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