Smash-and-grab robbers crash pickup truck into South Shore store

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Just before 3 a.m. Thursday, a white pickup truck crashed into the front of The Shop 147, a store in the South Shore neighborhood. Thieves grabbed merchandise before fleeing in a black van.

Investigators haven't figured out how much was stolen, but Sami Bader, the owner of The Shop 147, said some of his items, including Swarovski-studded jeans and leather jackets, sell for several hundred dollars each.

Bader said he hasn't gotten a chance to see if the surveillance cameras at the store, located in the 7200-block of Stony Island, caught the suspects.

"We did have another break-in in the back where they broke the back door about a year ago. And approximately two years ago we had a break-in from the roof. So, we always trying to do preventive things where we put more security and, you know, steel. But it seems that no matter what we do, stuff keeps happening," Bader said.

The store will be closed for several days.