BURIEN, Wash. — The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) is investigating after an ATM was stolen from a gas station near White Center early Friday morning.
According to the KCSO, a black Chevy Silverado pickup smashed into the front of the 76 gas station around 3:55 a.m. Friday, and the ATM inside the store was taken. The gas station located on the 11000 block of 1st Ave S was closed at the time of the robbery.
Deputies responded to the scene in unincorporated King County but were unable to locate the truck involved.
The KCSO said no suspect information has been released at this time.
ATM thefts seem to be happening with increasing frequency.
“This is probably the seventh or eighth we’ve seen in South King County, spanning from Covington over the White Center,” said Deputy Tim Meyer. "This is a concern of ours. And our detectives from our criminal investigations group are actively working these cases.”
It’s a “smash and grab” burglary using a very big hammer. Meyer said the machine is worth thousands on its own, not including the cash that may be inside.
In this case, he said the fire department had to check out the building to make sure it was structurally sound. The owner of the business told KING 5 he owned the machine as part of his business and was very upset at its loss, as he’ll be out not only the value of the machine but the bills stored inside.
In December in Centralia in Lewis County, another brazen attack on an ATM involved the use of explosives at a bank to literally blow the machine open.
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Reporter Glenn Farley contributed to this report.