Thieves in search of quick cash recently ripped ATMs from stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts, part of a nationwide uptick in such crimes.
The latest smash-and-grab heists happened Sunday in Enfield and Agawam, Mass. Police in the two towns say the thefts likely are related.
In Enfield, three crooks broke into the Stop & Save Food Mart on Enfield Street at about 3:20 a.m. Police arrived within one minute to find the entire storefront shattered and the front door in the parking lot.
Thieves had pried open the door, tied one end of a tow rope to a free-standing ATM and the other end to an SUV and wrenched out the machine through spraying glass, police said.