CHICAGO (WLS) — Thieves used a car to smash through a security gate at the front of a Bridgeport store before attempting to steal the ATM inside. The owner said it was the fourth time he’s been targeted.

It takes a little over a minute from the time the three burglars get out of their vehicle to the time a fourth behind the wheel pulls the security gate off the door frame of Wally’s Lucky Mart. But the brazen act is no longer a surprise to the owner, who did not want to be named or shown.

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“We say we have to do it from now on, maybe leave the doors open. It’s cheaper,” he said.

The thieves arrived around 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning in a black GMC Denali. After attaching chains to the security gate, the burglars only had to pull once to get in. The next step should be easier: breaking the glass on the front door and getting in.

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But the robbery was interrupted by a neighbor, a retired police officer.

“He came out, I believe, with a flashlight, and they saw him, and they ran back in their pickup and took off. A stolen pickup,” the owner said.

About three hours earlier, the same gang had succeeded elsewhere, stealing the ATM from a gas station near 76th Street and Chicago and loading it into the bed of the GMC pickup.

READ MORE: Burglars use chain and truck to break down South Side gas station gate and steal ATM, video footage shows

This time of crime has become an almost daily occurrence. More than 20 similar burglaries targeting ATMs have been reported by police in the South Side in August alone.

“They know they can get away with it,” said the owner of Wally’s.

That owner emptied his ATM, but now plans to get rid of it altogether. He’s also thinking about leaving Chicago and the surrounding area after 20 years in business.

“I’m definitely thinking about leaving, not just Chicago. The whole county,” he said.

Wally’s owner said he is grateful for the actions of the neighbor who was unharmed, but fears it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or killed in these crimes.