Thieves break in to Stoddard County school

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Bloomfield High School students reported to school Wednesday morning but were not initially allowed to report to their regular classes. Instead, the high schoolers were directed to the gymnasium where they spent the morning hours and school administration and Bloomfield police assessed damage done to the high school overnight.

According to Supintendent Nick Thiele, employees arrived at the school early Wednesday to find the high school building had been broken into and that perpetrators had also gained access to the office area and to several classrooms.

"It appears a pry bar was used to get into the building," Thiele said, "and then they used the same method to gain entrance to several of the classrooms."

Those classrooms, Thiele confirmed, are typically locked at the end of the school day.

An undetermined amount of cash was taken from the school office, Thiele said, after one or more people gained access to locked cabinets in the office area.

The school's safe within the office was also accessed, but it did not contain a significant amount of cash.

"It appears that whoever is responsible was familiar with where these locked cabinets containing cash were located," he said.

Approximately a dozen doors in the school were pried and damaged, and at least six windows were also broken, Thiele said.

While the school district is equipped with surveillance cameras, they are in limited supply, Thiele explained. Police are, however, reviewing footage from those cameras for possible information.

Bloomfield police responded to the call from Bloomfield Schools prior to 8 a.m. Wednesday, but had no comment on the incident when contacted mid-morning Wednesday.