ATLANTA — A thief broke into and stole toys from a warehouse of the Empty Stocking Fund, an Atlanta charity that distributes toys over the holidays.
It was a burglary that had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer – which was the tool that was apparently used to penetrate a cinderblock wall in order to steal Christmas toys.
The place was quiet Wednesday at 4 a.m. when a thief punctured a hole in a cinderblock wall. Surveillance images show the thief departing with bags of items donated for the holidays.
"We have called APD at least six to eight times in the last six months for break-ins," said executive director Manda Hunt, who has grown somewhat accustomed to break-ins.
"When I saw that he came through the roof I thought, OK, that’s ambitious," Hunt said. "To come through a cinderblock wall – I can’t imagine the time and work that that took. I mean that’s something that’s appropriate for a jewelry heist, not for coming in and trying to steal kids' Christmas toys."
Hunt says the charity had to all but shut down Wednesday as workers cleaned and fixed the wall, and double-checked the safety of the building.
"We lost a day and it was hard. It was after many, many long days, long nights the last month," Hunt said.
But Hunt says the response has more than compensated for the lost time and inventory. An 11Alive news crew saw a man enter the warehouse with four new fishing rods and two new chess sets to donate.
"It’s low to take toys from kids. Its just low, it’s terrible," said the man, a Buckhead resident who declined to identify himself. "I just hope this makes someone happy anyhow."
Hunt said he had plenty of company.
"Somebody mentioned to me that somebody donated $5,000 online, and then he increased it to $10,000," she said. "And it's turned a really horrible thing into something really amazing and it’s going to allow us to do so much more for children in this community who are struggling and the families who are struggling."