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3 businesses burglarized overnight in Chicago, police say

Worker confronts thieves breaking into Chicago sub shop
Worker confronts thieves breaking into Chicago sub shop 02:02

CHICAGO (CBS) — An employee at a Mister Submarine restaurant in the Lincoln Park neighborhood came face to face with burglars in the middle of the night early Thursday morning.

It was one of at least three break-ins targeting restaurants and bars within a period an hour in various parts of the city.

At the Mr. Submarine at 1525 W. Fullerton Ave., right at Bosworth Avenue in Lincoln Park, it took less than three minutes for the burglary crew to run in and steal two registers. The burglars broke in at 3:10 a.m., while an employee was asleep in the back of the restaurant.

When the employee heard the banging, he turned on the lights, but it did not scare the burglars away. He also shouted at the offenders to leave and, at one point, came face to face with at least one offender who had a hammer.

Thieves burglarize, steal registers from North Side restaurant 00:23

Surveillance video shows three people jump out and head to toward the front door of the Mr. Submarine. A different camera angle shows the moment they break the glass and climb through the doorway.

The first suspect jumps over the counter and goes straight for the registers. With the register still in his arms, the suspect indeed comes face to face with the employee.

In the video, the employee shoos the burglars away, and disappears to the back of the store again. Moments later, another suspect comes through the front door.

A different angle shows this thief jumping over the counter. He yanks the register out of the wall, hits his head on a ceiling fan, and crashes into a table before getting up and running to a getaway car—which pulls away.

The cash registers were recovered a short time later.

The first burglary happened about 40 minutes earlier, just after 2:30 a.m. at Ricobene's at 252 W. 26th St. near the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Police said three armed people entered the restaurant, which was closed at the time, by breaking the front glass door and taking the cash register before fleeing the scene.

Just before 3:30 a.m., officers responded to a burglary at the Moneygun bar, at 660 W. Lake St. in the West Loop.

The glass door of the bar was also found shattered, and multiple people entered inside and then fled in an unknown direction. It is not clear if anything was taken from inside.

As of late Thursday, no arrests were made in any of the incidents.

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