Smoke shops in Danvers and Saugus, Massachusetts, were targeted in smash-and-grab burglaries early Sunday morning.
The robberies at City Smoke Shop in Danvers and Vapor Zone in Saugus occurred within 30 minutes of each other.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The City Smoke Shop owner tells NBC10 Boston that three masked men backed a car into the building on Route 114 just after 5 a.m., swiped what they could and then took off.
Glass was seen shattered all across the ground where the vehicle barreled into the store, the door was pushed in and some of the brick wall broke apart. The vehicle involved was later found ditched at a DoubleTree Hotel.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
The smoke shop owner says in six years of running this business, he's never seen anything like this.
"Cigarettes and tobacco, that's it. They drove a car in for cigarettes and tobacco, crazy man," he said.
"Just get a job," said Keli Rossi. "You don't have to go and steal stuff or never mind just run your car into it. There's no need for that."
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
About 30 minutes after the City Smoke Shop was hit, thieves broke into Vapor Zone in Saugus using a car jack around 5:30 a.m.
Surveillance video shows three young people helping themselves to tobacco products -- a roughly $7,000 loss to the business.
The store owner spoke with NBC10 Boston back in December when they were last robbed.
It was not immediately clear if any arrests had been made in either incident, or if the two are connected. NBC10 Boston has reached out to police for more information but has not yet heard back.
