SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The robotics team at the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts has become the victim of burglars.
The group found their shed broken into with all of their valuable equipment and hard work virtually gone.
“I personally didn’t think they were going to take everything but they left nothing that was invaluable,” Teela Damian said.
Junior student Teela Damian said the thieves stole thousands of dollars worth of tools and computers — the things they need to learn and compete.
“It’s so difficult to try and like see past that and try and see how are we going to do things without these tools anymore,” she said.
Damian and the Sota Cyberdragons team 5700 built a shed on school grounds to house their equipment.
But a pair thieves struck on Christmas Eve, breaking the padlocks to get inside.
Even after adding more locks, the thieves returned saturday night and got in by breaking through the wall.
“It sucks,” Ari Kishinevsky said. “It just sucks to have this money taken from us. These time wasted.”
Time which the team needs for a competition just weeks away.
To make up for it they’re using a friends house and trying their best to get back what’s been lost.
“Just, it’s stressful,” Kishinevsky said.
Students said the police found blood at the scene which may help identify the people who broke in.
Parents said they expect the kids to bounce back and for this unfortunate situation to actually bring them closer together.
“If there is a silver lining to out of all of this, the students have continued to proved themselves worthy of a place to work to be able to operate at their highest level,” John Fox said. “To be able to go as far as they possibly can with this.”