Surveillance video captures multiple people breaking into USPS post office at Thompson Center in Chicago – NBC Chicago

More than a dozen people broke into the Thompson Center post office in the Loop early Monday, according to Chicago police.

The group broke through the front door of the post office in the first block of West Randolph Street around 12:35 a.m., police said.

Although police initially reported 18 suspects, video shared Monday afternoon by the US Postal Inspection Service shows about six or seven young men entering the post office.

The video shows them wandering inside the office, some of them off camera, before rushing out within 45 seconds of entering.

The first person to enter the post office is seen in the video holding a bag as they exit.

Police were still investigating what was taken, CPD spokesman Tom Ahern said in a text.

The post office will be closed until further notice, according to signs taped to its windows late Monday morning by a postal inspector.

The United States Postal Inspection Service said it was investigating the break-in with Chicago police.

“We are gathering information and will attempt to properly disclose it at a later date,” Inspection Service spokeswoman Mary T. Johnson said in an email to the Sun-Times.

She did not respond to further questions about the number of suspects or what was caught.

While it’s unclear what the group wanted to steal, the thieves have targeted Postal Service mail carriers for their master keys – also known as arrow keys – which can open all of the group’s mailboxes, such as those at the inside the halls of apartment buildings in a particular zip code. .

Thieves have used these keys to steal mail and collect written checks, which can be ink-washed and rewritten for themselves, the Sun-Times reported.

Security at the Thompson Center is controlled by a development partnership that includes Michael Reschke, chairman of Prime Group, and Quintin Primo III, executive chairman of Capri Investment Group.

Primo said the incident appeared to be a “random act of violence”. He also said the partnership was working with law enforcement on the matter and was “committed to the safety and security of Thompson Center.”

The building will eventually belong to Google, which plans to occupy it in 2026.