Caught on Camera: Thieves hit Riverwest Convenience Store Three Times in 2 Weeks

A popular Riverwest convenience store is looking for answers after owners say they were burglarized for the third time in two weeks. 

It all started on May 22nd, when surveillance video captured two men smashing through the windows at Sunrise Food, before stealing cash and cigarettes.

Five days later, they struck again, breaking more windows and stealing the same items.

Owners boarded up those windows with plywood, but early Sunday morning, video captured those same suspects striking again.

      "It's shocking that it's happened a third time," says Store Manager Abd Atary. "I know they are the same people." 

A neighbor says he called police the minute the most recent break-in started. He says by the time police arrived, the suspects were gone. 

     "It's hard, because you want to get involved so you call police, but then the police don't show up, it's like what am I supposed to do?" 

Surveillance video shows the most recent break-in took nearly 25 minutes to complete, as the two suspects removed screws and ripped off plywood.

     "There's no more windows, it's all plywood," says Atary. "It took them 25 minutes to take it down with their tools and hands, 25 minutes. That's a long time."

He says he's not angry at police, but that it's hard not to be disappointed in the slow response time. 

     "It's hard to be victimized three times." 

Owner Mike Salem says he's been in business for 25 years, and only once before has he been burglarized.

     "I feel sad because we've been nice to the people, and I wasn't expecting this to happen to me. But it's happened." 

Milwaukee Police did not return calls for comment on any of the three incidents, or on their response time to the scene. 

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