STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Police are looking for two people after an ATM was stolen from a Sterling Heights party store early Thursday morning.
Surveillance footage captured the burglary at Palms Liquor & Wine Shoppe, located near the intersection of 18 1/2 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue.
Within 40 seconds, the thieves smashed through the glass and pushed the ATM through a window onto the sidewalk. They then placed it inside an SUV.
"It all happened within two minutes," said Lt. Mario Bastianelli, with the Sterling Heights Police Department.
Bastianelli said there are ways business owners can try to prevent crimes such as this. He said an ATM can be made harder to steal by placing it away from the front door and securing it to a wall or floor.
"They think maybe easy access for customers," Bastianelli said. "It's easy access for criminals."
Palms Liquor is now facing repair costs on top of the loss of an ATM with estimated thousands of dollars in it.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sterling Heights Police Department at 586-446-2800.