WILMETTE, IL — Wilmette police are investigating a burst of commercial burglaries and attempted burglaries that hit 16 businesses across two parts of the village early Thursday morning.
Police said the crimes happened between 3:45 a.m. and 4:09 a.m. on Thursday, and that the offenders targeted cash at each business.
According to the Wilmette Police Department, nine of the businesses were on the west side of the village in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard. Seven others were in the Village Center in the 1100 blocks of Wilmette and Central avenues. Targeted businesses sustained broken windows and doors during the crimes, according to police.
Police also reported that eight burglaries or attempted burglaries were reported on Central Street in Evanston.
At 3:47 a.m., six Wilmette officers responded to a possible commercial burglary in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard, with up to four reported subjects. Based on surveillance footage, police said the offenders were in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard for less than five minutes before fleeing.
While officers were investigating that scene, police said a witness alerted them at 4:09 a.m. to the sound of breaking glass in the Village Center. Two officers responded from the Skokie Boulevard scene and located a suspicious vehicle within blocks of the Village Center. Police attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle did not stop and entered I-94 from Lake Avenue.
According to police, a Chicago Police helicopter was then used to locate the vehicle and observed several of the offenders fleeing on foot. Wilmette officers recovered the vehicle, which police said had been reported stolen earlier that morning from Oak Forest.
The department's preliminary investigation indicates that a group of individuals in a single vehicle was responsible for the Wilmette burglaries. Police said the crimes follow a pattern seen in other regional communities, with a group carrying out a high volume of business burglaries in a short period. In those cases, offenders break through windows or glass doors and spend a limited amount of time inside searching for cash or other valuables.
No arrests had been made as of the department's update.
Wilmette officers are in contact with impacted businesses, reviewing surveillance footage, following investigative leads and collaborating with the Evanston Police Department and other regional law enforcement agencies.
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