Police around the D.C. region are on the lookout for a group that’s targeting ATMs at convenience stores using a tool known as the “Jaws of Life,” which is more commonly used to rescue people trapped in car crashes.
The heists happened on eight different occasions just a few days ago, and then at least six more times in about a three-hour time span early Wednesday morning.
In almost all of the cases, the businesses that are targeted are 7-Eleven convenience stores. Police tell WTOP they believe the crimes may be related and they’re looking into that possibility.
“This has been a regional issue dating back at least six, seven months, where we’re seeing robberies for ATM machines,” said Hyattsville Police Chief Jarod Towers, whose department is investigating the attempted robbery of a 7-Eleven on Hamilton Street that happened early Wednesday.
While the inside of the Maryland store was damaged as police said the thieves tried to use a crowbar to break into a secure room, no money was taken because the ATM there had been mangled in a similar robbery last week and hadn’t been repaired yet.
The most recent string of ATM heists started at a 7-Eleven in Glenarden, Maryland, early Wednesday morning.
From there, a 7-Eleven on South Dakota Avenue in Northeast D.C. was robbed, followed by robberies in Hyattsville, Laurel, Lanham and then Greenbelt.
The robbers are using hydraulic spreaders — commonly called “the Jaws of Life,” which are used by firefighters to rescue people trapped in car crashes — to pry open the machines and take the cash.
“It’s just another example of the brazen and absurd crime increases that we’re seeing,” said Towers.
He said three people entered the Hyattsville store, and two of the robbers forced an employee into the back in the hopes of disabling security systems. They ended up leaving with wireless routers. Towers also said they were using walkie talkies to communicate.
So far, at least 13 different 7-Eleven stores have been robbed this week. A liquor store in Greenbelt could be the 14th convenience store hit. In that case, the entire ATM was stolen, instead of just pried open. But police there said that doesn’t mean it’s not connected with the other robberies, which have also occurred in D.C. and Virginia.
In response, Prince George’s County police said a group of detectives have been tasked with finding the robbers. Patrol officers working overnight will also be focusing patrols on convenience stores.
The FBI is also assisting in the investigation.
“It’s just another example of the brazen criminals that are out here victimizing people who are just trying to do their job,” Towers said. “These convenience store clerks who are out here working … night shifts so that our communities have resources available throughout the night. Especially for our first responders, the plow truck drivers, newspaper delivery folks who need somewhere to go in the middle of the night. These clerks are being traumatized.”
See video below of the suspects below.
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