Thieves target another 7-Eleven ATM by ramming van through store

BALTIMORE — For the second time in less than a month, thieves have targeted an ATM machine at a Baltimore 7-Eleven.

The latest strike came Tuesday just after 4:30am at the store located in the 1600 block of Thames Street.

Police say four unidentified suspects used a van to ram through the front of the store before taking off with the stolen ATM.

WMAR-2 News spoke to the property manager who saw the crime in action on surveillance video.

"It was very well organized. They took a pass at the building before the crime," said Justin Ethem. "Then they showed up with the van, a driver and they had a group and three on foot with fully blacked out clothes, black shirt, black shoes, black pants."

Etham estimated the damage to be upwards of $50,000 dollars.

"It's really sad, they caused more damage to the building," said Ethem. "We hope to have this fixed within the month."

A similar crime happened August 26 at a Hampden 7-Eleven on Falls Road, where an ATM machine was taken the same way. It's unclear if both cases are related.

SEE ALSO: Suspects steal ATM from a Baltimore 7-Eleven Thursday morning

Despite the recent spike in ATM thefts, police say the numbers are significantly down this year (23) from last year (48).

"The Baltimore Police Department is working closely with our regional law enforcement partners to share information, analytics and suspect/vehicle information associated with ATM Thefts in the metropolitan area," the department said in a statement. "The department has assigned a detective in each district to be hyper-focused in coordinating, tracking and disseminating intel to apprehend those responsible for these thefts. We continue to work closely with businesses in educating them on tips to secure their machines and are conducting enhanced business checks based on spatial analysis."

Anyone with information is asked to call Baltimore Police or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP.