NEW YORK — A Bronx school had to close Friday after it was broken into for the second time in just over a week.
Police have not said what items were stolen in the latest incident, but several calculators were taken last week.
An alert went out to parents Friday morning, saying students would be remote due to the break-in. But not everyone got the memo in time.
Some students showed up to class at Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy on West 237th Street, only to learn school was closed because of the burglary investigation.
Advertisement
Police said around 2 a.m., two men in dark clothing used a hammer to break the lock on the front door, then smashed the glass doors to several classrooms. School officials are still assessing what was taken.
Last Thursday, police said one of the doors to the school was broken into by three people wearing masks and black hoods. The allegedly went from room to room with backpacks and stole 50 calculators.
“It’s alarming in the fact this seems like a really safe neighborhood. I’ve only lived here about three years myself,” a Riverdale resident named Stephen said.
“It’s never happened before. I’ve lived here 24 years,” resident Maria Belostotsky added
Police have not yet connected the two break-ins to a string of robberies at nine other Bronx schools. In those cases, police are searching for a group of young men believed to be between 15 and 18 years old.
Police said those suspects made off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of calculators and other equipment.
Meanwhile, Riverdale school officials say they are working to get the school cleaned up as quickly as possible.
Advertisement
Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
Natalie Duddridge
Natalie Duddridge is an award-winning journalist. She joined CBS2 News as a reporter in February 2018.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Advertisement
Create your free account or log in for more features.
Source: CBS
Follow us on Google News to get the latest Updates