Montebello school police investigate 27 theft, vandalism incidents and seeks public's help
Officials said the 27 Montebello school incidents started happening shortly after the pandemic started.
MONTEBELLO, Calif. (KABC) -- Since the summer, the Montebello Unified School District has seen 27 incidents, varying between theft and vandalism, at various schools and facility sites.
The Montebello School Police Department turned to Facebook asking for the public's help with any leads.
"Since the onset of the COVID outbreak ... these campuses they're not being staffed as a result of some of the restrictions in place," said Sergeant George Magallon with school police. So oftentimes, these burglaries will take place and we won't know about them until two or three days later."
Sergeant Magallon said this is significantly higher than usual and they don't suspect teenagers or the homeless are committing the crimes.
"We just think it's organized criminals who are taking this upon themselves because the items that are being taken are very expensive and very specific items that can be resold," said Sergeant Magallon.
Out of the 27 incidents, some arrests have been made, according to Magallon.
"We're doing every effort we can to do our part in trying to keep these campuses safe and undamaged," said Magallon.
Tips can be submitted via email: AskSchoolPolice@montebello.k12.ca.us
Police said they encourage the public to contact their dispatch center to report crimes in progress at 323-887-7916 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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