D.C. Salvation Army races to recover after thieves steal $15-20K worth of gifts

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — The Salvation Army is racing to replace between $15,000 - $20,000 worth of gifts stolen, after thieves tore through its warehouse in Southeast, Washington over the weekend.

Salvation Army Staffer Bonita Johnson says police arrived to the scene in time to arrest two juveniles, but says the pair alone could not have hauled off all of the stuff that was stolen.

Police say five suspects broke into the temporary warehouse somehow bypassing the alarm. They spent hours going up and down the rows, rummaging through at least 300 gift bags, as though they were shopping. Police say the thieves took "older children's stuff" like Kindle Fires, MP3 players and iPods.

These gifts were expected to go out to families this coming Thursday.

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