Burglars break into 5 businesses in Hyde Park and Bronzeville neighborhoods in Chicago
Multiple businesses were broken into on Friday morning in the Bronzeville and Hyde Park neighborhoods, with the burglars making off with cash registers and at least one safe.
Around 4 a.m., four people broke into Jet Star Food Mart in the 4800 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue and took a cash register.
Police said the group then drove off in a black SUV.
Then, between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., police said three people broke the glass door at Sweet Drip Dessert Cafe in the 1600 block of East 53rd Street. Police said the group removed a safe and took money before leaving the scene.
Just before 5 a.m., police said a group broke the front door at Sip & Savor coffee shop in the 5300 block of South Hyde Park Boulevard, just around the corner from Sweet Drip, and took a cash register.
Khalil, who didn't want to say his last name, said he heard the burglars breaking into Sweet Drip and Sip and Savor. The noise was so loud, it woke him up.
"When I heard it, I just kept hearing glass shattering," he said. "I'm like, 'Nah, this sounds like it's outside.' And so then I looked outside, and then I saw them in front of Sip and Savor."
He recorded a quick video of the suspects after they broke into the coffee shop.
Sip and Savor owner Trez Pugh said he has other locations that have been hit by burglars.
"I done had at 43rd and at 47th combined, maybe about five or six times over time. So, this has completed the circle, I guess. I never would have thought they'd break in over here," he said. "What is your purpose? What's the end game? You're hurting the community."
Sweet Drip owner Hasan Ali's security cameras caught the burglars breaking into his business. Footage shows them using a bar to break the glass door, before going inside, yanking the register, grabbing the cash, kicking and grabbing the safe and then running out.
"It was sad, because we work hard here. Since we opened, for two and a half years, I've been here every single day. It was sad," Ali said.
Just after 5 a.m., police said a group broke the glass window at La Boulangerie & Co. bakery in the 1500 block of East 55th Street. Police said the group left with an unknown amount of money.
Police said the burglars also hit a Jimmy John's across the street from La Boulangerie. The store shared surveillance video showing one guy walking in, checking the empty registers, and walking out with cookies.
No arrests have been made in any of the burglaries.
Area One detectives are investigating.
Business owners said the damage caused by the burglars costs them more money than the actual cash stolen.
