Thieves steal ATM from 7-Eleven in Montgomery County in latest smash-and-grab-robbery

Thieves in Montgomery County stole an automatic teller machine from a 7-Eleven convenience store early Thursday morning in the latest smash-and-grab robbery to hit the D.C. region.

Police say the incident was reported at the store in the 12200 block of Tech Road in Silver Spring. Officers say two suspects entered the store and forced the clerks onto the floor while a third suspect rammed a pickup truck through the front wall. They loaded the ATM into the truck and fled the scene. Officers believe the thieves drove a red, older model Dodge or Ford pickup truck with silver rims and a white racing stripe through the front of the store.

An employee confirmed to FOX 5 that the thieves made off with the ATM.

Authorities have investigated several similar incidents over the past months in the District and in surrounding counties.

On April 30, a similar robbery occurred around 3:09 a.m. at the 7-Eleven Store located on New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring.

On April 26, police investigated an attempted smash-and-grab robbery of an automatic teller machine at a 7-Eleven store on South Dakota Avenue in Northeast, D.C.

On April 17, a 7-Eleven store clerk was assaulted during attempted ATM smash-and-grab along Varnum Street in the Mount Rainier area of Prince George's County in April.

On April 10, also in Prince George's County, police say three men in a pickup truck crashed into a 7-Eleven on Watkins Park Drive in Kettering, Maryland and attempted to steal the ATM inside.

On March 13 in Prince George's County, an ATM heist was reported at a 7-Eleven store in Lanham. Police thieves using a pickup truck drove into the store front, pushed the ATM into the back of the vehicle and drove off. Police say they later found the stolen ATM and others on fire. A similar incident was reported on March 2 at a 7-Eleven on the 1900 block of Michigan Avenue in D.C.

On February 17, police say an ATM smash-and-grab was reported on New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring. On February 15, thieves used a pickup truck to try to steal an ATM machine from a 7-Eleven store in the 2800 Block of Bladensburg Road in D.C.

On January 19, police reported another similar incident involving a stolen pickup truck being used to smash into a 7-Eleven on Cedar Street in Northwest, D.C. The thieves, police say, jumped out pushed the ATM into the bed of the truck, and drove away.

Investigators have not said if any of the similar incidents are connected.