Burglars drive through glass doors, steal money at Bank of America in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - Shards of shattered glass were scattered all over the ground and crime scene tape surrounded a Bank of America in San Francisco's Outer Richmond District on Wednesday morning, after police said the driver of an SUV slammed into the building.

It happened just before 4 a.m. on the corner of 38th and Balboa Street. 

The security guard at the scene said the criminals were likely after the ATM. Police said the suspects got away with money, but didn't say how much. They did leave a lot of damage in their wake. 

Crews inside were busy vacuuming up the glass and boarding up the door, when customers started to arrive. Many of them were shocked at the brazen crime. 

"To be honest, I actually thought it was potentially water damage. It’s just a pretty sleepy part of San Francisco, so yeah, kind of shocking," said Becca Maglathlin, who lives in the neighborhood.   

Others in the neighborhood said crimes like this are happening more often. Marjan Philhour said she doesn't feel safe in this neighborhood anymore, and wants city leaders to support the short-staffed police department. So she's running for supervisor. 

"There is a culture and an attitude that it’s okay to commit crimes. Criminals are emboldened," said Philhour. "So what do we need to do? We need to give our police officers the tools they need to do their jobs. Right now, that means technology. It means automated license plate readers, it means drones."

Philhour said just last month a truck drove into a nearby CVS to steal an ATM. A naked man was shooting at homes and cars on her street on New Year's Eve. And in August, a local store clerk was attacked and killed. 

Neighbors agree the crime needs to stop, but they still love living in the city. 

"It does make me want to figure out how we can help, but it definitely doesn’t change my mind," said Maglathlin.