San Diego Academy of Ballet studio burglarized

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Academy of Ballet is cleaning up glass and facing thousands of dollars in damage after a man broke in to the studio Wednesday night.

Around 11:30 p.m., a man wearing a blue hooded jacket and a black mask was captured on the ballet studio’s security camera, throwing a large rock through the front glass door several times to get in to the building.

“He jimmied some doors. He went in our costume room,” SDAB director of operations Simone Gabrelle told FOX 5. “He was obviously searching for things of value.”

However, the attack was not that well thought out, according to the studio’s management.

“We are a ballet studio we don’t have anything of value here. We don’t have any cash on the premises,” said Gabrelle.

The SDAB has been running at almost all hours with students, both young and old, for over 20 years. Up until this year, they had never dealt with an an incident like this before, according to the studio.

“They have tons of security, cameras,” a great-grandmother of a student, Rebecca Jones, said of the incident.

Most of the families at the studio feel that the break-in was random, but police have been notified. Nonetheless, San Diego police said they will be sending more patrol cars through the area in a show of force.

While the damage to the studio can be fixed, SDAB owners say that the sense of security at the school will take longer to mend.

“Children, adults (and) families alike don’t want to feel like their beloved ballet studio, or soccer club, or YMCA, or Boys and Girls Club — any sort of after school activity — is victim to a crime … a smash-and-grab,” Gabrelle said.

Anyone with information regarding the incident or a possible identification of the suspect is encouraged to contact SDPD or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers.

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