SEATTLE — A group of burglars used a truck to steal a kiosk from a Ballard post office early Thursday morning, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
Police received a report that three men in a pickup truck used a chain to rip the front door off a post office on the 5700 block of 17th Avenue Northwest around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. They then sped away with a self-service postage station.
"Very scary," said Ballard resident Mark Doiron. "I recognize and talk with a lot of these postal employees, and that's a pretty scary thing for them to go through."
Investigators don't believe the thieves got away with anything of value. Police later found the suspects' truck and the postal machine on the 7200 block of Detroit Avenue Southwest.
Detectives continue to search for suspects, according to the SPD.
The post office called in a glass repair company to fix the door. Owner Reza Ali Abdul said when he opened Glassma four years ago, he anticipated the focus would be on installations and accidents, but he said now an overwhelming amount of business goes towards repairing storefronts.
"We try to keep the businesses open. That's our main goal first," said Abdul.
The post office was one of five stops Abdul's company made Thursday.
"I'm a small business owner, and I really feel bad for small business owners that this happens to," said Abdul.
Smash-and-grab robberies and thefts have been an issue not just in Seattle but across the region in recent months.
Thieves have used things like trucks, forklifts and even a frontloader to steal from businesses. Many of the thefts have targeted ATMs.