School may be out for the summer, but the Stoneham (Mass.) School District is not having any fun in the sun after thieves made off with equipment from the school's athletic training room during an alumni event.
The stolen athletic equipment and uniforms affect 10 fall sports. Missing items include football helmets, jerseys, and other uniforms. The helmets alone cost $400 a piece, and the school district is pleading with followers on social media saying, “Our current athletes need this stuff and can’t compete without it. We cannot afford to get new uniforms. This could destroy our upcoming seasons. Our current athletes deserve better.”
The alumni event hosted at the old Stoneham High School was meant to be a walkthrough celebration to remember old times before the building is demolished later this summer. A new high school building will open this fall. Many of the doors at the old school were meant to be locked, and former students were only supposed to have access to certain areas of the building.
"However, the athletic training room contains a back door, which was not locked, and the group was able to access it by navigating a number of back classes and rooms." Said Stoneham Superintendent David Ljunberg.
There were 350 to 400 people in the building that night, and police say they have video footage of the handful of people going in and out of the athletic training room. In a post on social media, they said, “We don’t want to have to chase anyone, but we will.”
The Stoneham School District and police are simply hoping to have all of the equipment returned, no questions asked. According to the school’s athletic director, they have already received hundreds of emails and phone calls regarding the stolen equipment. A few pieces have been returned.
“Our priority is the return of the sports equipment so that all of our teams can train for and compete in the fall,” said Ljunberg.
