A local pre-school for children with special needs in Fort Myers was broken into during the early morning hours on Monday, leaving the facility in disarray. Shattered glass, scattered file folders, and police fingerprint powder marked the scene at "IMPACT for Developmental Education," a nonprofit serving children aged three to six.
Thankfully, the daycare has already repaired the two doors that were shattered during the break-in. Significant progress has been made in cleaning up the mess, but the disruption forced the daycare to close its doors, leaving families without care options on Tuesday.
The intruder broke two doors, stole three laptops, and took around $800 in cash and checks, including donations made in memory of the board president's wife. Security footage from inside the daycare captured a person in a hoodie entering the building at 1:26 a.m.
"Why? Why? Once you walk up to the door, once you break the glass, you realize that this is a place for kids," said Maxine Gibbs, executive director of IMPACT for Developmental Education. "So why would you keep going? Even if they did it at 1:30 in the morning, you can see what this place is. So to come in, it's almost like a desecration, you know, because this is for a population that really has very few alternatives. And we provide the alternatives."
The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating the break-in. A spokesperson for the department told WINK News that no suspect is in custody yet.
It's worth noting that Realty Group of Southwest Florida, just down the street from IMPACT, also reported an overnight break-in on Monday. One of their windows was shattered, and a debit card and some checks were stolen, but thankfully, the office was able to handle that with their bank before any money was taken.
"They broke the window, came in, and eventually the motion sensors in our office detected them and set the alarm off," said Rick Solata with Realty Group of Southwest Florida. "So then they left, before they could do any more, you know, looting or damage."
FMPD has yet to confirm whether the break-ins at IMPACT and the Realty Group of Southwest Florida are connected.