CASTRO VALLEY (KRON) — “I was sad and mad when somebody stole it.”

In the East Bay, a boy with autism had all of his baseball gear stolen. And he is taking the news really hard.

The alleged thief has taken away more than just his equipment, but possibly, the kid’s ability to play the rest of the season as well as the family’s sense of security.

The family wanted to share their story with KRON4’s Justine Waldman.

“My baseball stuff were taken!” 7-year-old Jackson Chandler said.

He’s got a strong swing.

But Chandler is missing all of his equipment to play in the Castro Valley Little League.

Chandler, who has high functioning autism, took it hard when his bat, baseballs, mitt, and batting gloves were all stolen.

“This was a really terrible thing to happen,” mom Heidi Chandler said. “Who goes and steals a kid’s baseball bag out of a car, and for it to happen to somebody who believes in the good in people…”

In their driveway, Heidi discovered her minivan’s back hatch wide open on Tuesday morning.

She regrets not locking her car the night before.

The alleged thief took Jackson’s baseball gear and left uncertainty if he would be able to play for his team.

“I was sad and mad!” Jackson said.

“He was very angry,” Heidi said.

The family’s sense of security, in a way, was also stolen.

“As a parent, you don’t want your kids to hurt, you don’t want them to be sad, you don’t want them to feel violated,” Heidi said. “He was afraid that someone was going to come and steal his video games in the middle of the night.”

Jackson’s next baseball game is on Thursday.

His team is coming through for him. He’ll be able to borrow a bat and mitt, so he won’t miss out on the last few games of the season.

“We would never allow that person to succeed in that way to stealing his time away from the game he loves,” Heidi said.

“My team is actually really cool,” Jackson said.

The Chandlers will now remember to lock their car when they go to cheer on Jackson from the stands.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:

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