Someone’s been robbing one of the city’s most well-established charitable organizations blind since the holidays began.
The Salvation Army of Central Maryland said Friday that its warehouse at 400 E. 29th Street in Abell has been burglarized three times since Thanksgiving, with the most recent case happening this past Thursday at around 10 p.m. A release from the nonprofit said “tens of thousands of dollars in construction tools” have been taken, along with toys and clothes intended for needy children.
“We are disheartened that something that is designed to help children and the community itself has been taken advantage of in such a hostile way,” said Major Gene A. Hogg, an officer with the Salvation Army, in a statement.
Police Capt. Jarron Jackson, a spokesman for the city police department, wrote in an email that stolen items included “assorted toys, copper pipes, and cases of trash bags.” He said authorities are still investigating and have asked anyone with information on the burglaries to call the police or report details anonymously to Metro Crime Stoppers.
The Salvation Army has opted to beef up security in response to the thefts.
The organization has been busy converting a portion of the same warehouse into a 7,000-square-foot nonprofit grocery store dubbed DMG Foods — presumably short for the organization’s tagline, “Doing the Most Good — the first neighborhood grocery market of its kind set up by the Salvation Army. The store is scheduled to open Jan. 15, 2018.
