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Burglars rob running store by cutting hole in wall

Ben Raykovich can list off nearly $17,000 worth of merchandise stolen from his running store in downtown Seattle.

The items themselves were very particular and also the most valuable.

“Tablets, clothing, jackets. The most expensive are the shake-dry jackets, and they're almost $300 a pop,” said Raykovich, the owner of Sound Sports.

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“Hard to sleep last night. You think, 'OK, you're going to wake up from this.' But you're not."

He has run Sound Sports, a popular running store at Western Avenue and Madison Street, together with his wife for 22 years.

They've had window break-ins, but nothing like this.

At 4:30 Monday morning, he and his wife were notified that store alarms went off, and in minutes thousands of dollars of merchandise was gone.

They didn't know how the burglars got in until they saw a hole cut into the wall of their storeroom.

Raykovich tells KIRO 7 the suspects must have known exactly what they were doing because this door was supposed to be locked at all times, and where they cut through leads right into the storeroom itself.

Seattle police were only able to take a report, as there were no nearby cameras.

Raykovich says business here has already been tighter than normal as they prepare for business to be affected by the Alaskan Way Viaduct teardown just down the street.

"When you play it close the vest, keeping the inventory tight -- then when this happens, it's pretty tough," Raykovich said.

He's finding support within the tight-knit active community. A GoFundMe page he set up is already attracting donations from people who have called the store a second home of sorts for years.

They're already back up and running, but want to see the people responsible behind bars.