Flat screen TV burglars have struck again in Fayetteville, breaking into the Applebee’s restaurant and stealing two TVs early Tuesday morning, police said.

Applebee’s is the fourth Fayetteville business that has been broken into within the past month where flat screen TVs targeted, as Partner’s Pizza and Da Shop barbershop also had flat screen TVs stolen. Burglars also smashed their way into Rooms2Go on the same night as the Partner’s break-in, but they didn’t get away with any TVs from the furniture store because they weren’t aware the furniture contained just display models, police said.

The Applebee’s break-in occurred just before 2 a.m. and did set off a burglar alarm, said Lt. Steve Crawshaw of the Fayetteville Police Department.

A large rock was used to break through the front door of the restaurant, Crawshaw said.

A flat screen TV theft has also been reported at the Wal-Mart in Peachtree City recently, police said.

Although police have video from the break-in at Da Shop barbershop, the burglars were wearing masks to conceal their identity said shop owner Derek Booker.

Booker said the burglars tried to get his largest flat screen TV, but it was bolted such in the ceiling that they couldn’t. They did get away with several smaller flat screen TVs, though. The video shows the burglars using a rock to smash through glass to gain entry to the barbershop, Booker said.

Crawshaw said Fayetteville has not been the only jurisdiction targeted by flat screen TV burglars, as Griffin and the Newnan-Coweta County area have also been hit. Reports have also come from areas as far south as the Georgia-Florida line, Crawshaw added.

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