Philadelphia Police Investigate Car Ramming Burglaries at Vape Shops

Philadelphia Police Investigate Car Ramming Burglaries at Vape Shops

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A vehicle crashing through a glass storefront early Saturday morning kicked off a string of violent break-ins targeting Philadelphia tobacco and vape retailers, 6abc Philadelphia reported.

Police are investigating at least three burglaries where thieves rammed cars directly into storefronts to steal merchandise. Culebra Snack & Vape on N. Front Street in the city’s Hunting Park neighborhood was struck twice, on Tuesday and Friday mornings, before Smoker’s Palace on Keystone Street in Wissinoming was hit on Saturday.

Employees boarded up the vestibule of the Wissinoming tobacco shop after a vehicle smashed through the front door at roughly 6:30 a.m. while the security alarm sounded. Surveillance video captured a burglar declaring, “You got to go harder,” before the glass finally shattered on their second ramming attempt.

Vape shops targeted in series of burglaries across Philadelphia — 6abc Philadelphia

Footage obtained by 6abc Philadelphia from inside Smoker’s Palace shows the group checking the cash registers first. Employees told the station that the registers contained no cash, prompting the intruders to tear boxes of merchandise off the back shelves instead. The group was in and out of the store in roughly 30 seconds.

“It’s wild, I’m not surprised though. Cigarettes, anything quick, you know,” customer Steve Pruzinsky told 6abc Philadelphia.

Store employees said that the thieves specifically targeted popular items like Backwoods cigars and True Wraps cigar wrappers. Investigators are working to determine how many people were involved in the spree and whether the separate break-ins across Hunting Park and Wissinoming are connected.

Philadelphia Police Investigate Car Ramming Burglaries at Vape Shops

“You’re taking away not much, and then you’re causing a lot of damage to this fella’s shop,” customer Tone Griffin told 6abc Philadelphia. “I’m sure he has insurance, but at the same time this is something he put his hard work, sweat and tears into.”

Following the back-to-back burglaries last week, Culebra Snack & Vape installed metal bollards out front to prevent vehicles from driving into the property again.

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