WASHINGTON, Mo. – A hook-and-chain attack on an ATM west of the metro left multiple crime scenes early Monday morning.
The Washington Police Department said officers were called to the Bank of Franklin County on East 8th Street near East State Highway 47 around 3:30 a.m. Monday.
Krista Davis lives nearby and heard what sounded like a crash. She said she looked outside and saw people in hoodies running from the ATM with money slipping from their hands.
“We didn’t even have time to call the police,” Davis said. “[One of them] dropped a bag, went back and got it, and ran past the pickup truck we thought they had crashed.”
Washington Police Detective Lt. Steve Sitzes said officers were working on four different scenes at one time related to the ATM incident.
Sitzes said in addition to the crime scene at the bank, thieves stole a truck from an apartment complex about a mile away. Detectives also found cash boxes at two different locations near the bank.
“It’s quite obvious they knew what they were doing,” Sitzes said. “They were at the bank for less than a minute and away with cash.”
Sitzes said the suspect used the stolen truck and a chain to pry the ATM panel open.
Washington police have also been in contact with federal investigators.
“We’ll be further in touch with them because this a broader problem in the St. Louis area,” Sitzes said.
This is the seventh known ATM attack in recent weeks.
On Friday in St. Louis, police said someone tried but failed to get into the ATM at the Midwest Bank Centre on Grand Avenue.
Last week, FOX 2 uncovered Houston gangs started the hook-and-chain attacks on ATMs.
Banking security expert and Bankers Security Safe and Vault Sales Manager Mark Thatcher Jr. said it’s a trend that then spread across the country.
“It’s deliberate and targeted to certain ATMs makes and models. Almost always involves a stolen vehicle as well,” Thatcher said.
In Franklin County, Davis just learned how close to home this crime hit.
“Subsequently, it was my brother-in-law’s truck that they stole about a mile away,” Davis said.
She said the suspects tore out the ignition.