Thieves filmed ransacking liquor store in Chicago’s Near North Side

CHICAGO (CBS) — Thieves targeted a liquor store and deli in River North early Thursday, making off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

The owners posted surveillance video of the thieves on their Instagram page. Nine boys or men are seen getting out of cars at 3:05 a.m. Thursday and using crowbars and sledgehammers to force their way inside the store at 71 W. Chicago Ave.

Then they quietly took what they wanted.

Gold Coast Market co-founder Hani Falestine-Hurah said burglars had tried to break into the store before, but this was the first time a team of thieves had succeeded.

“It was devastating,” Hani said. “It was very upsetting to see our hard-earned money spilling on the ground or just being looted by a bunch of young kids, taking away what we had worked so hard to earn.”

Falestine-Hurah argued that one of the problems is that the city does not have enough police officers and does not deploy them where they are needed.

“You see a lot of police officers working when there are protests at universities or group gatherings, there are militarized police officers ready to step in. But for small businesses, to protect what we have and what we’ve worked so hard to build, it seems like this has been going on for four years and we keep getting the same story: ‘We’re working on it, we’re working on it,’” he said. “It seems like nothing ever gets better.”

Falestine-Hurah said police resources are focused on protecting high-end retail corridors like the Magnificent Mile, and called for more resources to be devoted to small businesses.

He also said he wanted to know how many officers work in the Gold Coast and River North areas on an average weeknight.

“The city has a lot of work to do as businesses start to take charge,” Falestine-Hurah said.

Falestine-Hurah asked anyone who recognized the thieves to call the police.