ATMs are reportedly being ripped out of walls at local banks
CLEVELAND (WJW) – The Fox 8 I-Team is now tracking a new way thieves are trying to get at your money. They are ripping ATMs right out of the wall of banks.
Cleveland Councilwoman Deborah Gray said she was shocked with what she saw Sunday evening.
“When I pulled up to the drive-thru, I saw the ATM completely wide open,” Gray said. “It was taken. I couldn’t believe it.”
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She said it happened at her bank on South Moreland Boulevard in Cleveland.
Cleveland Police Spokesman Wilfredo Diaz tells the I-Team police are investigating several similar thefts, and so is the FBI.
The FBI is looking for three suspects from a June 9 ATM theft at the PNC Bank on Broadway Avenue. FBI officials tell us it is possible the three suspects may also be involved with the other recent ATM thefts.
On Aug. 11, police investigated two ATM thefts on Cleveland’s east side. The I-Team also found a report of an ATM theft at a bank on Lorain Avenue on the city’s west side also on Aug. 11.
On Aug. 18, police investigated the ATM theft on South Moreland Boulevard and also one at the Huntington Bank on Broadway.
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Diaz said police did arrest one man they believe was involved in the Huntington Bank ATM theft charge but he has not yet been formally charged. Diaz said officers are checking to find out if the man is involved in any of the other cases.
“They are causing quite a bit of damage,” Diaz said.
Gray said residents are concerned and don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods.
“This is happening right in the open, these banks are in crowded areas,” Gray said. “You go to bed and the ATM is there, you wake up and it’s gone.”
Anyone with information on the recent ATM thefts is asked to call the FBI or Cleveland Police.
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