Armed Robber Steals Cash From Bingo Fundraiser At San Jose School
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A San Jose high school marching band and color guard is persevering a day after being robbed of thousands of dollars at its weekly Bingo fundraiser event, a color guard director said Thursday.
An armed man with a ski mask on came into Oak Grove High School, located at 285 Blossom Hill Road, around 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, went to cash handlers of a Bingo fundraiser event and demanded money, color guard director Teresa Moura said.
Moura said the man took roughly $5,000, and "most people didn't know it was going on."
A security guard chased after the suspect, but a parent alerted him the man had a gun and the pursuit ended, she said.
"It's sad to lose the money, but we're just glad nobody got hurt," she said.
As a result of the incident, Moura said staff and some parents are holding an emergency meeting to discuss added security measures.
In the 25 years of the marching band and color guard's existence, there had not been an incident until Wednesday night. But Moura said she highly doubts the Bingo event, which is conducted weekly, will be cancelled going forward.
The fundraiser funds the band and color guard's day-to-day operations. Oak Grove High provides anywhere from $200 to $500 a year for the program, and the Bingo event funds 85 percent of the annual funding for the band program, she said.
Moura said she and her husband, marching band director Chris Moura, have been working with the Oak Grove High band and color guard for 19 years.
Police said the suspect remains at large Thursday. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call San Jose police.
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