Crime & Safety
Football Equipment Stolen From Washington High School
BREAKING: Fremont Police say the stolen equipment is worth $9,000.
FREMONT, CA — Roughly $9,000 worth of football equipment was stolen from a high school in Fremont during construction over the summer break, and police are asking the community to keep an eye out for it.
"It's tough," Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.
"It's sad that they're going have to start the year without these and maybe buy new ones."
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The theft was reported Tuesday after staffers conducted an inventory at Washington High School at 38442 Fremont Blvd., but it's thought to have occurred in mid-July, possibly on July 16, according to Bosques.
The gym was left unlocked for a few days while construction crews were going in and out, but workers noticed that something was wrong around July 17 or 18.
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"Somebody on campus noticed that there was a weird movement of some items," Bosques said. "It sounds like the items were taken from the boys locker room."
There's no video of the crime, and at this point in the investigation it's also no longer feasible to obtain video from security cameras in the surrounding area. Those systems typically only keep that footage for seven to 14 days, according to Bosques.
"But definitely someone had to have a decent-sized vehicle" because of the amount of equipment taken, Bosques said.
There were 15 helmets, valued at roughly $3,000, and roughly $6,000 worth of shoulder pads, according to Fremont Unified School District spokesman Brian Killgore.
"If anyone out there would like to donate for new equipment we would certainly like to discuss that," Killgore said. School is back in session Aug. 30, but much of the football team is already in summer practice.
"As of now they have enough equipment for the number of players they have," Killgore said. "The concern is that once we get closer to the school year they're not going to have enough to give out," he added. "Typically they have close to 100 players between junior varsity and varsity."
Meanwhile, police are still hoping to recover the stolen equipment.
"I think our biggest message is just that somebody out there knows where these are," Bosques said. "Anyone who's seen some helmets around, we'd love to hear from them."
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Fremont Police Department at (510) 790-6900.
— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock
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