Chicago police investigating 2 South Side smash and grab burglaries

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Thieves hit two South Side stores Friday morning in the same Jeep, leaving the stores with significant damage, Chicago police said.

Police said they used a Jeep to smash into the front door and steal items inside.

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Surveillance video from 47th Street and Prairie Avenue shows thieves pull up in two vehicles.

They set their sights on a clothing store, got out and used a chain hooked up to one of their Jeeps to forcibly pry open the security gate to break in.

"It's crazy going on right now," Syed Gilani, owner of J Bees. "I don't know what's going on, but Chicago is getting wild. It's too often."

The owner of J Bee's clothing store, Syed Gilani, said another store he owns on 87th Street was also vandalized four days ago.

The broken beam is evidence of a heartless crew, he said, who stole clothes, shoes and a cash register inside.

"The same pattern, they're doing it, the same guys out there doing it," Gilani said. "Police are trying to catch them, eventually they will. But for the time being, I have to take a loss."

Chicago police said it's possible the same Jeep was also used in a smash and grab about an hour and half later at a Foot Locker near 35th Street and King Drive.

Video from Chopper 7 showed police rushing into the store. Broken glass covers the front entrance.

The windows were smashed by the Jeep that was left there on the scene as investigators collected evidence.

Business owners are feeling the pain right now.

"It's very tough," Gilani said. "You gather all this merchandise for a very long period of time and then all of a sudden it just vanishes. It's like a disaster. You wake up in the morning and it seems like everything is gone. So it's very hard right now. Very hard situation right now."

The district manager for Foot Locker said they have surveillance video of this incident. Police now have that video to investigate.

No one is in custody.

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