JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A playset for children with autism, to help them with their development, was stolen in the middle of the night.
Surveillance video shows someone on the property of Growing Together Behavioral Center during the time of the theft.
The playset was supposed to be part of a playground for the kids, now little metal hooks in the ground are all that’s left.
It’s worth about $10,000 and it had a slide, canopy and swings.
Alexis Lawson is a behavioral analyst at Growing Together Behavioral Center and she noticed something was missing from their back parking lot.
“We had just the little area set up right here, so you can see the studs and that we had it mounted into the cement,” she said.
The building has a surveillance camera and one thing they noticed was that someone tried to spray paint the camera.
“It was quite the shock coming into work and noticing it was gone,” Lawson said.
Lawson said the video shows the thief had on gloves and a ski mask.
“The kids, they deserve so much. And the outdoor equipment is for their sensory needs and their social skills and just getting their child energy out,” she said.
Now the staff is trying to find a way to give the 25 kids at Growing Together Behavioral Center a new playset.
They set up a Go Fund Me account if you’d like to donate to help them buy a new one.