West Englewood Retail Business Struck by Early Morning Ram-and-Grab Burglary

CHICAGO, IL — A commercial establishment in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood was severely damaged early Wednesday morning, April 15, 2026, after burglars crashed an SUV into the storefront to steal an ATM, leaving the vehicle behind at the scene.

The incident took place at approximately 4:49 a.m. at a retail business in the 7000 block of South Ashland Avenue. According to police reports, the suspects used a dark-colored Jeep to smash through the front doors of the building. Once inside, they extracted the ATM and moved it into a second, waiting getaway vehicle.

Interestingly, the burglars abandoned the heavily damaged Jeep inside the storefront before fleeing the scene. Officers arriving minutes later secured the vehicle for forensic evidence collection. Authorities believe this burglary is linked to another smash-and-grab that occurred exactly two hours earlier at a gas station on Kimball Avenue in Avondale, as well as a series of ATM thefts reported throughout the week.

The Chicago Police Department's Area South detectives are analyzing security video from nearby businesses and investigating the registration of the abandoned Jeep. Business owners along the Ashland corridor are urging the city to install protective bollards to prevent similar ramming incidents in the future.