KPRC TV-News Houston
A smash-and-grab robbery at a north Houston gas station early Tuesday morning has left the storefront in shambles, an ATM missing, and robbers still on the loose.
Employee Benzilo Gomes said he called the police and his boss after the men used a pickup to smash into the Shell gas station on Interstate 45 near West Parkway around 3:30 a.m. and steal an ATM.
The employee said he watched from behind the register as the robbers loaded up the cash machine and took off.
“Not even four or five minutes. They lifted it so quickly,” Gomes said.
As the robbers drove away and turned a corner, the machine fell out of the bed of the truck onto the side of the road.
Officials believe a man and a woman in a van picked up the machine. They believe the man and woman could be the newspaper delivery workers for the area.
Police found the stolen pickup -- which happens to be a Houston Police Department officer’s vehicle -- abandoned on Interstate 45. Officials said the officer was unaware that his vehicle had been stolen.
The seven people involved in the robbery of the cash machine are being sought by officials. Several witnesses told officials they saw a blue Econovan pick up the fallen cash machine.