CHICAGO (NewsNation) — While Americans have witnessed an uptick in criminals wreaking havoc on retail establishments and using cars to breach buildings or steal ATMs, crash-and-grab incidents are now emerging as the latest trend in theft taking place across the country.
Criminals are now using vehicles as weapons to steal merchandise from stores and this trend has spiked, particularly in locations like Chicago. Consequently, law enforcement is issuing community alerts to address these crimes.
In just the last week, six crash-and-grab incidents have occurred in vintage and sneaker stores across Chicago — thieves use SUVs or cars to smash through store doors and swipe merchandise.
On Saturday, police said five thieves crashed a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee through a West Chicago storefront around 5 a.m. Urban Jungle‘s owner said they made off with nearly $100K worth of merchandise and caused about $30,000 worth of damage to his shop during the break-in.
“Pretty quick thing, they were in here for about four or five minutes but they were able to make off with a few handfuls of stuff,” said Jeff, co-owner of Urban Jungle.
Retail crimes have spiked nationwide — Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston are ranked the top three worst cities for theft, according to the National Retail Federation. Chicago is ranked eighth.
The new crash-and-grab trend has business owners and shoppers on edge.
“All these robberies and stuff is scary; I don’t feel safe anymore,” a Chicago resident said.
This trend extends beyond retail stores. In Los Angeles, the California Highway Patrol said last week thieves crashed a minivan into a luxury sedan to rob the driver. Authorities are still investigating that incident.
