Smash-and-grab burglaries at North Center bar, Lincoln Square yogurt shop caught on camera

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Several North Side businesses were smashed up Monday night and Tuesday morning, Chicago police said.

Glass was left shattered on the sidewalk at Market Square in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

The owner, Cenk Duman, told ABC7 that thieves used a cinderblock to break his window, all just to steal a few bucks.

"Yeah, 200 bucks out of the drawer. That's it. Unbelievable," Duman said.

Duman shared surveillance video showing the whole robbery. At least five people were involved, including one person who smashed the window while another jumped inside to steal the cash drawer.

"They were looking out from this side. They were looking out from that side. So, it was obviously a whole network, organized team thing," Duman said.

The thieves were in, out and gone in two minutes flat. CPD's forensic team meticulously searched the shop, looking for anything that may connect the scene to potential suspects.

"The most shocking part is they're obviously kids. Like, these are kids. They're just teenagers. They're going out and they're doing this," Duman said.

Scenes like that one playing out up and down North Lincoln Avenue on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Just a few blocks south of Market Square, four different businesses, Country Financial, Bad Apple, Gannon's Pub and Wild Goose, were hit.

Security camera footage from Gannon's Pub shows a similar robbery to the one at Market Square. This time, the whole group went inside, ransacking the bar in its search.

Irv Gilner's wife owns Gannon's Pub on the corner of Lincoln and Cullom.

"There was a crew of five kids going up and down Lincoln, breaking into places. Supposedly, they went into nine, and they crashed their car down on the South Side somewhere, and they arrested some of them," Gilner said.

Right across the street, Wild Goose Bar and Grille is already replacing its window, apparently installing reinforced glass this time around.

"You hear about it. You see it on the news all the time. You just hope it doesn't happen to you, and the next thing you know, you get the call and you're the victim," Duman said.

At Country Financial Insurance Agency, the storefront was shattered and the thieves took some small electronics.

"We're an insurance company, so this is something that we do all the time so being on the other side now it kinda...I know how these business owners feel," Country Financial Insurance agent Roberto Martinez said. "We're trying to stay in business and we invested a lot of money in here in this office space and we're not gonna let that hold us back. We're gonna continue to move forward."

A real estate office and a Starbucks were also hit on the North Side, along with the Breakfast House at Ashland and Wellington Avenues. And, there were more similar robberies at three restaurants on the South Side.

Some business owners said there are some people in custody, but police have yet so confirm if any arrests have been made or if any of the crimes are connected.

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