Skip to main content
News

Bungling thieves left a Safeway parking lot ATM looking like this. And they lost a car

A person pushes a cart towards a Safeway grocery store at dusk, with shopping carts and bright store lights visible.
Diamond Heights Safeway, the scene of a failed ATM heist. | Source: Garrett Leahy/The Standard

Bungling San Francisco thieves tried and failed to make off with an ATM last week in a flop of a heist at the Diamond Heights Safeway, police said.

Officers responded to the incident just after 3:30 a.m. Friday in Safeway’s parking lot near Gold Mine Hill. Sadly, for the thieves, the ATM did not turn out to be a gold mine for them, as they failed to remove it and lost a car in the process, according to the police union.

“They failed. Both literally and figuratively,” the San Francisco police union joked on X.

No arrests have been made, and the thieves fled in a second vehicle, police said Tuesday.

A damaged Bank of America ATM is cordoned off with yellow caution tape in a parking lot during twilight.
The mangled remains of an ATM targeted by bungling thieves is left behind in the Diamond Heights Safeway parking lot. | Source: Garrett Leahy/The Standard
An ATM structure with "Bank of America" logo, surrounded by caution tape, appears damaged or under construction.
The leaning tower of a failed attempt is seen in Safeway parking lot. | Source: Garrett Leahy/The Standard

READ MORE: San Francisco Businesses Spend Big Bucks Fighting ATM Thieves

The latest attempted ATM theft comes as other San Francisco business owners have installed extra security in what police say is a spike in ATM thefts. Some methods have included steel-reinforced doors, multiple locks, chains and extra cameras to prevent break-ins.

A Safeway manager declined to comment and said the ATM belongs to Bank of America. The bank has yet to comment on the failed theft.