Burglars in a Seattle suburb reportedly managed a brazen heist last Sunday, tunneling through the bathroom wall of a coffee appliance shop before sneaking into a neighboring Apple Store and making off with about $500,000 of merchandise.
The robbery included 436 iPhones, according to the Lynnwood Police Department, which announced Wednesday that no arrest had been made. There were no updates as of Friday afternoon, a department spokesperson told SFGATE.
Police are still investigating and declined to turn over surveillance tape to local outlets. The burglary took place at a mall Apple Store, a sleek, open space with a wood-paneled ceiling and a large, glassy front.
The point of entry appears to have been the Seattle Coffee Gear next door. The shop’s regional manager, Eric Marks, told KOMO News that his front door had been pried open, then the burglars had seemingly opened up the stores’ shared wall, creating a “24 by 18 [inch] hole cut in the wall” into a backroom of Apple’s retail shop.
“I’m surprised we were the conduit for them to get to the Apple store,” Marks said. “I had no clue we were so close or adjacent to them.”
The hole, cut through layers of wall in a rectangle just big enough for an adult to crawl through, is right between the toilet and sink in Marks’ store bathroom. The coffee appliance shop has now replaced its locks, KOMO reported. Local police told the outlet that no fingerprints were left behind.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, did not respond to a request for comment.
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