SEATTLE — A group of masked thieves used a stolen car to break into a North Seattle smoke shop overnight, stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise.
Surveillance video shows the suspects ramming a vehicle through the gated front entrance of Lake City Smoke Shop around 2:30 a.m. After breaking through, they entered the store and took merchandise before fleeing in multiple vehicles.
The owner asked not to be identified on camera because she fears for her safety.
“I saw that the front end of the store was open and I was like, ‘What the heck is going on?'” customer Andrew Krippen said Monday.
No one was inside the business during the break-in.
Seattle Police arrived to find an abandoned Hyundai backed into the storefront. The vehicle had been reported stolen.
Police say these smash-and-grab burglaries happen regularly in Seattle, with about one or two occurring each week.
The break-in has created financial hardship for the owner, a single mother who lost two other businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This shop is now her main source of income.
She kept the store open Monday while cleaning up the damage.
“It is sad, and you know, that’s their livelihood and that’s how they survive,” said a customer. “People just come in and take it. People don’t want to work for what they have.”
No arrests have been made.
트위터 공유: 시애틀 흡연점 강도 사건 발생