Someone stole more than two dozen bikes from a Camden youth center.
Organizers at the group Lifting Up Camden’s Youth (LUCY) say that someone broke into the group’s shed and stole the bikes.
“We came in Monday morning and all of our bikes were gone. Literally there was only a few left,” says LUCY executive director and founder Kristin Prinn. “I think at least we lost 25-28 bikes.”
LUCY is a youth outreach center on Camden’s east side. Their teen bike riding program has now been halted because of the theft. Some of the bikes cost hundreds of dollars. Prinn says that they believe someone intentionally pointed their security cameras down before they broke into the shed.
“It appears that the handle, the door, the lock - everything was taken off with power tools and then put back on and the shed was just empty,” she says.
The members of the group say that they are shocked by the event.
“How can you steal bikes from a youth center that’s for the kids?” asks LUCY member Giang Nguyen.
The organization says that they are working with the Camden County Police Department to try to locate the bikes. They have so far recovered one bike. But they say that what is the most amazing part is the outpouring of support from the community who want to help.
“We’ve had companies, we’ve had corporate CEOs, we’ve had neighbors, we’ve had volunteers and donors,” Prinn says.
Prinn says that the support may help replace some of the bikes.
"For our youth that are already really restricted in terms of their housing situation and the city to be able to get out and get a break, go on outside and go on a ride, was extra special,” says Prinn. "And for them to have lost that and, ‘I've lost school’, to not be in person, to not be with their peers, is just devastating"
Anyone who may have information about the crime is asked to contact the police.