BALTIMORE — Baltimore Police arrested an 18-year-old man Sunday morning in connection with an attempted ATM theft on the city's west side.
Officers responded around 6:09am to a burglary at Aden Deli and Grocery in the 2300 block of Orem Avenue.
A burgundy utility van reportedly smashed through the front wall of the store in an attempt take the machine.
According to a police report the van fled the scene when officers arrived, but left one suspect behind.
Police say Hazma Said was seen exiting the store through the large hole left by the truck.
RELATED: 18-year-old arrested after attempted ATM burglary in Baltimore City
Once he noticed police there, Said tried unsuccessfully to run away.
Still, the truck and whoever was behind the wheel remain on the loose. Said at first told police he was only 17, although they later found out he was really 18.
This incident is the latest in a string of recent ATM burglaries in both Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
Last week, thieves targeted a Walgreens store on York Road. An abandoned white van potentially tied to that incident was found later that day in Southwest Baltimore.
Then a couple of weeks before that, someone managed to pull an ATM out of a bank in Cockeysville. Police have not indicated if Said and his accomplice(s) are connected.
"It’s sad because he’s a good guy to the community," said a customer who didn't want to be identified. "A lot of people use this store. It's sad what these young kids are doing to the community."
Monday afternoon, crews were on scene repairing the damage from the weekend.
Tony Carter who plays Lotto at Aden's Deli and grocery says the thefts are getting out of control.
"I heard it was a lot of people doing this around the area Baltimore and it’s just crazy that it happened here," he said.
"Spend the money to put up barriers if you’re going to have an ATM in there because," said one customer. "Believe me, eventually they are coming. They're kids so eventually, they're coming."
Meantime people are still coming down to shop and support the corner store.
"This is our community," said one man. "You got to support the businesses."
As for cases in Baltimore County, police have dedicated specialized resources to patrol units and are performing security checks on businesses.
Baltimore City police now have a detective in each district to coordinate response and share intel on ATM thefts and attempted thefts.
WMAR-2 News reached out to the local FBI office. While it only handles bank ATM thefts, a spokesperson said they have resources on standby should the city and county need them.
