Dallas police said five men stole an ATM from the Angelika Film Center Monday morning.[[317521551,C]]
Three masked men went into the theater in the 5300 block of East Mockingbird Lane and took the ATM – which was not bolted to the ground – at about 4:40 a.m., according to police.
Police said two other people waited in vehicles outside.
Surveillance video from both outside the theater and inside show how quickly the thieves went to work, prying open the front door with a crow bar, unplugging the machine and rolling it away on a dolly in less than 15 seconds.
Dallas police said it was clear these thieves had done their homework.
"You'll see these bad guys come through and scope it out," said DPD Maj. Bill Humphrey. "So they'll do a little bit of homework before they come and snatch them."
A cleaning crew was working in the upstairs area of the theater at the time of the theft. They heard the commotion, but by the time they got to the window, the thieves could be seen rolling the ATM away on the dolly to a waiting car.
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This was the 55th ATM crime this year in Dallas.
According to Dallas police, there have been 24 successful thefts of an ATM and 31 attempts.
Police are urging business owners to prevent these crimes by moving any ATMs away from the store entrance, lighting their business and parking lots and investing in high-definition surveillance cameras.
NBC 5's Josh Ault and Katy Blakey contributed to this report.
