A St. Clair Shores ice cream shop is dealing with the aftermath of a break-in that was caught on surveillance cameras.
Cold Cow Ice Cream was burglarized early Monday morning when a person broke into the business and stole nearly $700 in cash, according to the owner.
See the full story from St. Clair Shores Reporter Peter Maxwell in the video below
Surveillance video shows the suspect shattering the shop's drive-thru window before entering the building. The person then crawled through the restaurant and made their way to a cash register.
In less than five minutes, nearly $700 was gone.
The break-in left employees shaken.
"I am still a little shaken up. I got here this morning and I was still kind of nervous," employee Olivia Grabowski said.
Grabowski said she discovered the damage when she arrived at work Monday morning.
"I walked up to broken glass, buckets of spoons, straws, all of our window signs all over the floor," Grabowski said.
The crime has left both customers and the business owner questioning why someone would target a neighborhood ice cream shop.
"Who would break into an ice cream shop?" owner Vernon Wright said.
Customer Jennifer Wright shared a similar reaction.
"I don't understand why anyone would want to break into a place like this," Jennifer Wright said.
Vernon Wright said the theft is especially difficult because Cold Cow Ice Cream is an independent business.
"We're independent. We don't have corporate behind us, nothing like that, so it's just me and my employees," Wright said.
Wright said the suspect appeared determined to carry out the crime.
"As far as what he did, it was pretty brazen. He came up and had absolute intent to blow that window out and come in," Wright said.
Customers said the shop is a popular part of the community.
"Everyone around here loves Cold Cow," Jennifer Wright said.
Customer William Allar said small businesses often bear the brunt of crimes like this.
"It's unfortunate, you know. It just seems to be happening more and more often that this kind of small mom and pop place gets ripped off," Allar said.
St. Clair Shores police are investigating the break-in and are asking anyone with information to contact them.
The owner also had a message for the person responsible.
"Eventually, you'll be found. Or you'll make another break in and be basically busted on that one," Wright said.
This story was reported on-air by Peter Maxwell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
