Thieves Target Brooklyn Park Salvation Army
The Brooklyn Park Salvation Army had an unsettling theft ahead of this holiday season.
According to Salvation Army Captain Daniel Simmons, thieves siphoned a full tank of gasoline from one of their vehicles as it sat in the parking lot last week.
The same charity had its chapel significantly damaged in a burglary and arson incident in 2022.
Simmons said the nonprofit has gas cards and bus cards it can provide to those in need.
He called the incident “deflating.”
“Just stop, just stop committing that kind of crime,” Simmons said. “It takes from people. It takes peace of mind. So just stop and know you’re forgiven if you do.”
Thieves stole magnetic Salvation Army signs off the vehicles while they were siphoning gas. Salvation Army Captain Daniel Simmons is worried they will use the signs in a larger heist, posing as employees and stealing Red Kettles.
Magnetic Signs Also Stolen
More troubling to Simmons than the tank of gas was the magnetic Salvation Army signs stolen off the vehicles. Those removable signs visually identify the vehicles as conducting official business for the organization.
Simmons is worried that the thieves will put the magnetic signs on their own vehicles and use them to conduct a bigger theft.
“I’m less concerned about the fuel and was more concerned about someone using the magnetic Salvation Army official vehicle signs on the side of a vehicle to pick up kettles or masquerade as us, the Salvation Army,” he said.
No such theft has been reported.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows thieves stealing gas and magnetic vehicle signs from the Brooklyn Park Salvation Army.
