Gate City auto repair
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When burglars in east Kansas City decided to break into an auto repair shop, they didn't go halfway.
It looked like a scene from "The Fast and the Furious." One mechanic says his tow truck was stolen late last week, as crooks smashed through a fence to steal it. Shihab Hameed, owner of WV Auto LLC, says this was a stupid crime. He repairs cars at that garage at 24th and Brighton, some of which he needs to tow back to his shop.
When Hameed visited his shop early Saturday morning, he found the gates that surround his lot were broken down, and his tow truck was gone. Video from his store's surveillance cameras showed the crooks using his Chevy tow truck as a battering ram, breaking down the fence before driving off in the truck.
"I've never seen anything like that, and I've been here a long time, " Hameed told FOX 4 News. on Thursday. "The whole gate was all the way over there."
Hameed shared photos from Saturday morning, showing his fence in pieces and his big white Chevy gone from the lot. Video clips show the crooks hitting the fence twice with the truck before breaking through the second time.
"They backed it up, and hit the gate, and just took it away, " Hameed said.
Hameed is still in business, and he's put the fences back up, but without the tow truck, he's losing money every day it's not there. Hameed, a native of Iraq who became a U.S. citizen in 2009, says he bought the wrecker using money he borrowed from a friend.
"I use it for my living. I don't have jobs for my shop. I can't tow vehicles, " Hameed said.
Police say they're searching for the stolen truck. Hameed says whomever stole the truck should be ashamed. He says he's done business in the city's east side for years, and never experienced any trouble.
"I don't know what they're thinking when they broke the gate. I say just go get a job like other people, " Hameed said.
