DETROIT (WXYZ) — Church and school are two places people should feel safe. However, two institutions in Detroit are raising awareness about thieves who know no bounds.
The pastor said burglars stole about $10,000 of merchandise.
“To the left, here is the window they tried to break on the Tuesday break-in," Pastor Boyd White III pointed out.
For the past few days, White says he’s been on edge while hoping he doesn’t receive another phone call about another break-in at his church. He's the pastor The Ark Detroit. It's just south of Palmer Park.
White said there's been four break-ins within a week and another attempt was thwarted on Saturday by newly hired security.
“The other issue is the more days we spend here, the more things we see are missing," he explained.
White said about $10,000 worth of electronic equipment vanished, including a $5,000 keyboard, some monitors and a speaker.
“We actually found some of our merchandise at a pawn shop on Friday at a pawn shop within a mile of here, and we went to retrieve the stuff back and we were told that we had to purchase back the items that we own that were stolen from us, which is … I mean, that’s crazy," he said.
"As we say in legal (field) — I’m also a lawyer — that’s unconscionable," White said.
The church co-owns the building with Charlotte Mason Community School where a TV and tools were also said to be stolen.
Principal Chrisara Moore told 7 Action News it's a small, private school with an already tight budget. It's now having to invest in additional security measures.
“I would say about 90% of our kids are here on significant scholarships because we want to serve our community. That’s really our main goal is to serve our community. So yeah, we don’t have a ton of resources to pay for things," Moore explained.
Simone Cato’s children attend the school and husband serves on the board.
“Whoever is doing this, consider the impact that you’re having on the community. Just for a minute, stop and think," she said. "There’s students here who, for some of them, this is the one place that they come that they feel like it’s a haven."
"When you start doing crazy things like this and it starts mentally affecting parents and people want to pull back or pull out… think about the impact you’re having on the community and that you’re having on the students and just chill," she continued.
The church says it's not looking for money. However, it is looking to raise awareness about the thefts, address what's driving the thefts and encourage anyone with information to call the Detroit Police Department at 313-267-4600. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
