Thieves stole approximately $10,000 worth of equipment from a Denver-area baseball league serving children with special needs, police said.
The trailer that houses equipment for the Miracle League of Metro Denver, at the Football Parks and Recreation center in Littleton, was vandalized Wednesday night, The Denver Post reported.
Thieves stole bats, baseballs, helmets and gloves, took the league's PA system and even stole the defibrillator inside the trailer, the newspaper reported.
"Our first aid kits, our AED, our defibrillator, all that was stolen," Jim Morgan, president of the organization, told KDVR. "The first thing that goes through my mind is who would do this?"
The league was established in 2006. There are 100 children participating in the league, the television station reported. According to the Post, the league is an outlet for children with wheelchairs, breathing tubes and other conditions to compete.
News of the theft was greeted with dismay.
"It actually made me cry, because it means so much to them," Christy Shinbara, whose son plays in the league, told KDVR
The break-in occurred days before the new season was set to begin. The season kicks off Saturday morning, KDVR reported.
Jeffrey Vargas, a league board member whose 12-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy and competes in the league, said the theft would not dampen the enthusiasm the league has generated.
"They're not going to steal our heart," Vargas told the Post. "We're going to play ball."
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