A suburban small business owner is reeling after their shop was targeted by a smash-and-grab burglary, just a month after the retailer opened.
The break-in occurred at The Sneak Inn shoe store Tuesday morning in suburban Bloomingdale, leaving the owner out hundreds of dollars in merchandise and having to invest in costly new security equipment.
“It was heartbreaking. I had only been here a month,” owner Marek Czajkowski said.
Video shows a masked burglar smashing a window, with multiple other thieves coming in and ransacking the business.
A masked burglar was seen dragging the cash register to the front of the store, while attempting to disable the alarm and surveillance system.
“No one wants to think that something bad is going to happen to them until it happens to them so I wasn’t expecting it especially being in this area,” Czajkowski said.
The business lost at least two-dozen pairs and a slew of other merchandise in a span of just three minutes, with the thieves stuffing the stolen merchandise into Amazon delivery bags.
“They parked at the apartments behind this building,” Czajkowski said.
Now, The Sneak Inn is closed for at least a week as they get the glass door replaced and add more security, including metal shutters.
“I spent so many years getting here working hard you know going through all the steps to do it the right way for it to get taken,” he said.
Bloomingdale police are still hunting for suspects, using facial recognition software to help identify the perpetrators as the investigation continues.