FREMONT (KRON) — A youth baseball league in Fremont has been left stunned after vandals attacked their concession stands and stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
On either Thursday or Friday of last week, vandals broke into a concession stand next to the ball fields behind Holy Spirit Church in Fremont. And the damage is extensive.
“There’s red paint all over the walls,” said Jennifer Treat, who helps manage the league. “They bashed the door out. They sprayed the fire extinguisher, (which) has created a lot of dust. So, it’s going to be a lot of clean up here.”
But the vandals didn’t stop at the concession stands. They also broke into a storage shed near the fields and stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment belonging to the Fremont Cal Ripken Youth Baseball League.
Treat said she is not sure how to explain this to the kids.
“I don’t necessarily know what to tell them. You know, one of the kids just saw it, just now, and it was heartbreaking to see his….reaction,” Treat said.
On Monday afternoon, a dozen players were practicing on the field. Thirteen-year-old Dominic Gutierrez plays first base, and he’s not happy about the break-ins.
“You know what? I feel like it was a violation of our privacy,” Gutierrez said. “Because this…is the baseball diamond for us, and this is a very sacred spot for us.”
The new baseball season starts in March, leaving the non-profit Ripken League just a few weeks to fix the damage and find new equipment.
The Fremont Police Department is investigating, but so far, they have not identified any leads or suspects.
Jennifer said she hopes whoever did this will come forwards and make it right.
“This is all for the kids,” she said. “It doesn’t benefit the adults (or the parents). We’re not willing to press charges. We just like you to help us get this back to working order”
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