Thieves Target San Francisco Guest House for Pediatric Patients
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Police in San Francisco are investigating a particularly heinous robbery after thieves broke into San Francisco non-profit that houses children being treated for cancer and other serious ailments and their families.
The Family House lost thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment and electronics in the recent robbery, according to people who run the non-profit.
"Seeing how somebody would purposefully do this to a pediatric guest house is a real gut punch," said CEO Alexandra Morgan. "I have no idea what anybody is thinking who breaks into a compassionate housing facility for little kids who have cancer."
The Family House provides free, temporary housing to families with children who are being treated for serious illnesses, mainly for cancer, at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. At the time of the crime, dozens of children were staying there, according to Morgan.
"Thank God this happened on the ground floor, and the residential floors are above," she said. "Somebody, very consciously, decided to do this, without regard for who they were hurting or what they were doing."
The person or persons responsible stole numerous computers and other electronics, that are mainly used by the kids and families, said Morgan.
"We're here to do what we can to make life easier for families who are fighting for their children's lives. For someone to recklessly break in and steal the very equipment our families need as their lifeline to home is just a heartbreak," she said. "It's rather heartbreaking to know that we're not exempt from any of the crime that the rest of the city is experiencing as well."
The Family House is in Mission Bay, which falls within SFPD's Southern District.
According to SFPD crime data, there have been 184 burglaries in the district between January 1 and April 3 of this year. There were 241 burglaries during the same timeframe, last year.
However, SFPD crime data reveals property crime overall is up 41.5% from last year. There have been 1,276 property crimes so far this year, compared to 902 during the same time period last year.
Aside from the thousands of dollars in equipment the Family House lost, Morgan said they will have to spend more money on improving their security system.
"As a result of this, we're going to have to invest in very expensive security equipment, and an alarm system. More than what we already have," she said.
There were no witnesses to the incident, and nobody was hurt, according to SFPD. No arrests have been made at this time and police have not released any suspect descriptions.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department.
