STOCKTON —
Two suspects have been caught on surveillance footage breaking into a Stockton mosque on Sunday morning. The Stockton Police Department said it happened on the 4200 block of Pershing Avenue about 5 a.m. The alleged thieves made off with a flat screen TV and a donation box.
The two suspects were both in hooded sweatshirts and sneakers, and one had an animal print backpack. Even though the cameras did not capture their faces, Fahmy Nasser with Masjid Al Emaan said these two are up to no good.
“You realize that somebody was here that wasn’t supposed to be and took things that didn’t belong to them,” Nasser, the president of the mosque told FOX40.
Nasser explained that he was disheartened when he found out two thieves stole a 50-inch flat screen TV and a donation box full of hundreds of dollars from their mosque in the Hacienda Plaza on Pershing Avenue.
“Financially it does set us back somewhat. But I mean, you do feel sort of a violation,” he said.
Nasser said the thieves broke in through one of their doors around 5 a.m. on Sunday.
He said Stockton police investigators were out there poring over the scene, prompting leaders to cancel a kids class.
“Sunday school. We went ahead and canceled that, we just told the parents that we’re going to not have the Sunday school operated that day,” Nasser said.
But this isn’t an isolated event, this area has had its issues over the past few years. A nearby business owner said he’s had not one, but two, security cameras ripped off.
Despite the setback, Nasser said he and his members will be OK.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, a setback for us financially, but it’s petty theft. We’ll make it through,” he said.
