KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A vandal stole thousands of dollars worth of tools from a trailer that was outside one of the Habitat for Humanity warehouses
According to the organization, which works to provide affordable homes to families after building them, the incident happened early Friday morning.
Surveillance video shows the suspected thief creeping in the middle of the night around the trailer.
"We have no idea who he is, we're not sure. But he may be a person that has been, you know, looking for some time to see how they could get in here," Kellen Jenkins, marketing and communications manager at Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City, said.
In the video, you can see the man breaking in through the trailer's vent and shimmy his way in.
"He stole a lot of hand tools. Mostly what he got was a lot of Milwaukee power tools," Jenkins said. "He took several air-nailers, which are those are fairly expensive, so we were sad to see those missing."
The crook spent more than half an hour figuring out what tools and accessories to steal.
He left behind his "stay hungry" cap in exchange for one of their hard hats.
"We had to adjust our work schedules to make sure that we had the tools out on the sites so we could keep going today," Jenkins said.
Habitat for Humanity said the burglary comes at a time when it's already struggling with the rising costs of construction.
"Losing even just this amount, it puts us behind, it puts us behind schedules, it puts us you know, it impacts our budget and impacts the families that we're building with," Jenkins said.
The man stole six Milwaukee drills, which ranged from $129 to $169 each.
He also stole a Milwaukee nail gun valued at $299, along with a right angle drill also valued $299.
The thief also got away with several cases of drill bits, extension cords, blades and a case of nut drivers.
The nonprofit that's working on at least six homes right now says it's cost more than two-grand to replace the tools.
They hope the community can help them recoup the loss or catch this guy.
"I think it was just kind of a crime of opportunity. We're a construction company, he knew that if he came in here, he'd probably find some tools and he did," Jenkins said.
Habitat for Humanity hopes you can help them by donating through their website or go on their Amazon Wishlist where do have a list of tools.
If you know anything about this burglary, call the KC Crimestoppers Hotline at (816)-474-TIPS (8477).
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