An ATM was stolen from a movie theatre in Waterloo on Friday.
Around 6:30 a.m., a white van smashed into the Galaxy Cinema outside Conestoga Mall, breaking through its front doors.
By the time police responded to the scene, the vehicle was gone – as was the ATM.
Surveillance video released by police shows the reversing van taking out the doors on at least its third attempt, and at least three people loading something into the vehicle.
“At this point, we’re treating it as a stolen vehicle and believing that vehicle may have originated in the GTA,” Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel told CTV News.
Police say they’re looking to get in touch with any witnesses to the heist – and hopeful they’ll be able to find some.
“If you’re breaking through glass, especially commercial glass of that type, you’re certainly making a lot of noise,” Heinzel said.
Damage to the theatre is estimated at $30,000 to $35,000.
Several similar incidents have been reported locally over the past year.
Arrest warrants were issued in December for two Ohsweken men in connection with ATMs stolen from a Guelph car wash and New Hamburg grocery store in similar circumstances.
Last August, a stolen vehicle crashed into a restaurant in Guelph in what appeared to be an attempt to pull off another such heist, although damage caused by the crash made it impossible for the perpetrators to get at the ATM.
