59 iPads stolen from Pacific Elementary in Manhattan Beach [UPDATE]
Suspect #1. Courtesy of MBPD
After reviewing surveillance footage, the Manhattan Beach Police Department has determined that the theft of 59 iPads at Pacific Elementary School occurred early Saturday at approximately 4:45 a.m.
In the footage, the suspects appeared to be two males wearing baseball hats and a female with a hoodie, according to MBPD.
A Pacific Elementary teacher on site Sunday morning noticed shattered glass and a broken-out window pane outside a nearby classroom and immediately notified police and district officials, said Carolyn Seaton, Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s executive director of educational services.
Suspects #1 and #2. Courtesy of MBPD
The stolen iPads, worth roughly $25,000, were stored in metal cabinets secured by pad locks in two fifth-grade classrooms. The pad lock in one classroom had been cut off while the metal latch section of the other cabinet had been cut through, according to MBPD.
“We can only surmise how the locks were broken. It could’ve been a bolt cutter,” Seaton said. “It had to be a tool that’s extremely strong.”
Seaton said the district is working with its insurance carrier to replace the stolen iPads as soon as possible.
Suspect #3, a female in hoodie. Courtesy of MBPD
“We hope that we’ll get the iPads back in the hands of the students very, very soon and also support the teachers as they strive to be such innovative educators,” Seaton said. “It’s very unfortunate that someone would steal such an important learning tool from students.”
Anyone with information regarding this crime or suspects is encouraged to contact Detective Shawn Thompson at 310-802-5124 or sthompson@citymb.info.