CHICAGO — For the third consecutive day, smash-and-grab thieves have targeted a high-end shoe store in Chicago.

Police say a group of two to five men and one woman are accused of ramming store fronts with vehicles to gain access before ransacking the business, stealing merchandise and taking off in a getaway vehicle.

While the suspects failed to penetrate the Boneyard Chicago Shoe Store in the 1100 block of N. Ashland Ave., significant damage was caused before the culprits abandoned their destructive effort.

“No one’s helping us. The police can’t catch these guys. They come after the fact,” said frustrated Boneyard Chicago Shoe Store owner Jacob, who did not wish to reveal his last name.

Video showed the assailants in a stolen Jeep using the automobile as a battering ram just after 4 a.m. Thursday. A security guard protecting the sneaker resale shop was seen quickly retreating after the would-be robbers flashed a gun.

“I don’t expect there to be a gunfight right here,” Jacob said. “It’s just a deterrent that obviously failed.”

According to the business owner, dating back to 2020, it’s the third time the Boneyard Chicago Shoe Store has been targeted. In response, the store owner positioned concrete barriers on the sidewalk to deter criminal activity.

But Jacob told WGN News that his local alderman‘s office informed him the barricades had to go.

“We had a conversation with them,” he said. “I guess, aesthetically, they didn’t like the way the barricades looked.”

The business owner said he’ll again make the case for the barricades in a meeting he hopes to have next month with the office of 1st Ward Alderman Daniel La Spata.

Still, the smash-and-grab occurrences throughout the city endure.

Neighboring businesses in West Town, like Traditions Barber Parlor 4, are working together to counteract the dangerous activity.

“Everybody on this block pretty much knows each other and we’re always looking out for each other,” said Anthony Joseph Garzon.

Anyone with information is asked to call Chicago police.