posted 04-21-2009 10:30 AM               

Thieves stole an ATM from the San Diego Air & Space Museum this morning, San Diego police said.

An alarm went off at the Balboa Park museum around 5:12 a.m. and responding police officers found a door ripped off its hinges, said police Sgt. Ray Battrick. It was not immediately known if anything other than the ATM was taken.

posted 04-21-2009 06:39 PM            

The photo in the linked article says it all -- this was a very determined group, who had specialized tools to pull off a reinforced, alarmed door, then quickly cut through a steel gate to get to the ATM, followed by specialist equipment to drag it out. They left much of their equipment behind, probably as the alarm went off immediately and police are very close by. They were no more than a few feet inside the front door at any time.

All available video surveillance footage is being studied to determine their identities.

It’s a sad day when a non-profit organization preserving world heritage items is targeted in this way. Fortunately (if that is the word), the ATM was all they got, and they did not get near, never mind touch, any aerospace artifacts. Our historic building has suffered some damage to its front.

posted 04-22-2009 01:14 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by heng44:
My first reaction was: why would anyone want to steal an Apollo Telescope Mount?

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quote:

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Originally posted by FFrench:
It's a sad day when a non-profit organization preserving world heritage items is targeted in this way.

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