GERMANTOWN, Md. — Montgomery County police are investigating a brazen smash-and-grab robbery Monday in which thieves stole an entire ATM from a Germantown gas station.
Police were called to the Shell Gas Station in the 21000 block of Frederick Road just before 5 a.m. Monday on a report of a commercial burglary.
They arrived to find nothing but broken glass where one of the front windows of the business had been and a missing ATM.
Surveillance video released by the department shows a group of unidentified thieves using a white, 16-passsenger van as a battering ram to smash their way into the building. The thieves then picked up the business’ ATM and loaded it into the back of the vehicle before taking off.
Police were unable to provide detailed descriptions of the suspects, who were wearing dark-colored hoodies and pants during the robbery.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County website or to call 1-866-411-8477 with information.
The break-in is just the latest robbery targeting ATMs in the DMV. Last week, three men drove a truck into the Giant Food store in the 18300 block of Leaman Farm Road just before 4:30 a.m. and attempted to open the store's ATM. When that failed, they repeatedly rammed the ATM with the truck but were ultimately unsuccessful in opening it.
Also this month, three suspects broke into a business on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE in D.C. and stole the ATM there. The the thieves loaded the ATM into a car waiting outside being driven by a fourth suspect and then drove off.
In July, federal prosecutors charged two men accused in a string of ATM robberies that stole more than $8 million since early 2023. In those incidents, the suspects used Jaws of Life, gas-powered saws and sledgehammers to break open ATMs and steal the cash inside.