CHICAGO (WLS) — A hair braiding business was robbed overnight on Chicago’s South Side, police said.
The crime occurred early Sunday morning near 35th Street and Giles Avenue at African Hair Braiding by Ours in Douglas.
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According to Chicago police, four people broke into the store and robbed it. It’s unclear exactly what the suspect took with him.
The shop’s owner, Awa Nguye, spent early Sunday morning cleaning up after the shop was robbed.
Wigs were very expensive, very expensive…they cost a lot of money.
Mr. Awa Nguye, owner of African Hair Braiding
“I came here with my sister and son. We saw all the windows here broken,” Guye said.
Surveillance video shows five suspects using what appears to be hammers to smash through a glass window around 3:50 a.m.
Video from inside the store showed them running toward the back of the store, quickly gathering boxes of merchandise and taking them one by one to the getaway car.
“They steal a lot of hair. I have a big business, so I buy a lot of boxes of hair,” Guye said. “We have a lot of customers who want to come here because we do a good job here.”
Thankfully no employees were injured, but Gueye said the thieves stole some valuable hair.
“Wigs are very expensive, very expensive… They cost a lot of money,” Gueye said. “I’m a working woman. Do your job, do your job. You’re tired. Getting your hair done is not easy. It’s a lot of work.”
At about the same time overnight, suspects also broke the front glass door of Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana in the Dunning neighborhood near Harlem and Waveland, Chicago police said.
Read more | Chicago Police investigate break-in at Dunning’s Pizza Shop
The thieves stole a safe from inside the restaurant, which was later found near 41st Street and Pulaski.
There were similar scenes near Milwaukee and Paulina. There was also a break-in at the Belmont Army Surplus Store this morning. The large window display in front was shattered into pieces.
Back in Douglas, Guay said this is the second time his store has been broken into. After 20 years in business, she said it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be a business owner in Chicago and is looking for help from the community.
“It’s tough for business owners. It’s very, very tough,” Guye said. “I need a lot of people to support me because they’re going to get everything out of me.”
It is unclear whether the break-ins across the city are related.
So far, no arrests have been made in Awa’s intrusion into African Hair Braiding. Chicago police said the suspects fled in a four-door sedan.
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