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Thieves tunneled their way into Hoover's Best Buy, stealing $100,000 in electronics.

(Special to AL.com)

Masked thieves smashed and tunneled their way into a Hoover store earlier this morning, stealing at least $100,000 worth of electronics.

The break-in happened at Best Buy in Riverchase Village. Hoover investigators believe the suspects could be part of a larger group that has targeted other Best Buy stores in other southeastern states.

The theft happened between 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., said Hoover police spokesman Capt. Gregg Rector. It appears the band of thieves - at least three of them - first tried to gain entry through the roof.

They tried to cut a hole in the roof with some kind of cutting tools, Rector said, but either failed or changed their minds. Next, they went to the side of the brick building and made another attempt but hit some kind of barrier. Finally, they went to a third location, also on the building's side, and breached the wall, making a hole big enough for them to climb through.

Rector said investigators believe they had sledgehammers as well as the cutting tool. Though the building does have a security system, the alarm did not sound, Rector said.

Once inside, the suspects took laptops, iPads and iPods, as well as other devices. Rector said they don't have a complete inventory, but the loss is expected to exceed $100,000. There is video of the break-in, but authorities have not yet been able to identify them, in part because of the masks.

The break-in was discovered when employees arrived at the store about 8 a.m.

Rector said there have been similar attacks on Best Buy stores in Florida, Georgia and Texas. "We're pretty sure they're related,'' Rector said. "It's pretty big."