SEATTLE (KOMO) – Seattle authorities are on the hunt for who used construction equipment to destroy public property and steal a bunch of cash.
Surveillance video captured Tuesday morning’s robbery but no word on any potential suspects.
A surveillance camera outside of the Seattle Pacific University Bookstore showed the large construction equipment driving right up to smash and snatch the ATM.
“I was going to make a deposit,” ATM user Adan Alabasbida said.
The thief ripped the ATM up and eventually dragged it out into the middle of West Nickerson Street before maneuvering the front loader into position to push what appears to be the ATM’s safe down the street.
“You really need experience to drive one of those because they have special buttons, you know, to get it going,” Alabasbida said.
“Somebody had to have known how to do it, I mean, I would think they’d have keys. Can you hotwire a front loader?” Seattle resident Barbara Endresen said.
Another unanswered question is whether or not the driver of the pickup is involved in the crime spree.
Seattle Pacific University said its Office of Safety and Security reported the 4-door burgundy pickup truck following the front loader as it drove out of the parking lot and left campus.
“Most people, what do they do? They steal the car and ram into it. That took a lot of ingenuity, I guess?” Endresen said.
The university alerted the Seattle Police Department right away.
Officers later found the front loader and the ATM across the street from the Home Builders Center about half a mile from campus.
Officials at Seattle Pacific University said they are still investigating the incident.
Copyright 2024 KOMO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.