PHOENIX (AZFamily) -- We've heard the warnings about credit card skimmers at gas station pumps, but now Valley thieves are targeting air pump machines.
A Phoenix gas station said it happened to them a couple of days ago, and it was all caught on video. The crooks are seen going to extreme measures just to get that cash.
"They got in and out in under five minutes, by the time they were gone," said Mike Gilligan, the owner of the Shell gas station at Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue, which is north of Bethany Home Road..
He shared a video of two people pulling into the parking lot and attempting to break into the air pump.
"There's a probably an 18-inch thick metal bar that sits right here," he said as he showed off the machine. "It's not an easy, you know, just wiggle it. They really had to drill through a lot of metal to get there."
Gilligan said after reviewing the surveillance video, he realized the thieves had visited the gas station twice.
"I believe the first time they came by was about 2:00 a.m., and by the time they got into the air machine, it was about 7:00 a.m.," he said.
Gilligan owns 14 locations across the Valley but said it's the first time something like this has happened at any of his gas stations.
"Usually, you know, people will tamper with things, but we've never had the air machine broken into or really tampered with," he said.
In this case, the crooks managed to get away with some money.
"It could be $300 to 400 in there," Gilligan said.
However, by filing a police report, Phoenix police said Gilligan is providing evidence to help the department build a case or even tie the suspects to a string of thefts.
"That little bit of information you're giving us may fill in a huge gap that we have in an investigation to where we can identify an individual," said Phoenix Police Sgt. Phil Krynsky.
The damage left behind will cost much more to fix than the thieves got away with. The pump was about a year old and cost thousands of dollars.
Gilligan said it'll be months before they find the parts they need and get someone in to fix it.
Until then, he believes the gas station will miss out on thousands of dollars of revenue.