Burglars force open 13 DES classrooms

Thirteen classrooms at Dandan Elementary School fell prey to burglars over the weekend, making it the fourth school on Saipan burglarized in a span of a month.

DES principal Jonas Barcinas said that, although he is saddened over the incident, he is also relieved that no property of value seems to have been taken from the school.

Barcinas said they are puzzled about the motives of the unidentified burglars since, as of yesterday morning, there were no reports of anything lost or taken. He said a CD cassette player was even left inside one of the rooms.

“They could’ve taken the cassette,” he said.

Barcinas said the burglars might have been looking for food because classroom table drawers were forced open, as if the culprits were searching for something.

The burglars entered three rooms of the 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders and two rooms of the 3rd and 1st graders through the back windows, which were smashed open and the grills removed. Debris were found scattered all over the backyard of the rooms for 6th graders.

Barcinas said the school’s security guard discovered the forced-open rooms yesterday morning around 6:15am. He said they immediately called the Department of Public Safety, which responded and checked the school at 7am.

According to DPS spokesman Eric David, the police is still investigating the matter. It has not been determined yet if the incident happened on Saturday or Sunday.

Two yellow desk chairs were found at the backyard fence of the school near the kindergarten building. Barcinas showed Saipan Tribune the fence where the culprits probably entered the school. He also showed some food wrappers scattered near the area. He said the burglars might have climbed the chairs to get into the school.

Barcinas said bloodstains and one handprint were found on windowsills of the 6th grade rooms. The burglars did not spare even the restrooms of the school as profanities were found spray-painted on the doors of the toilets.

Barcinas said the teachers handling all the classrooms would have to submit an inventory of all materials inside the classrooms that were forced open. He said there were no laptops and computers taken since the new sets of computer equipment that were supposed to be distributed to the classrooms last month didn’t push through.

“Fortunately, that didn’t happen yet or else we would’ve lost them,” he said.

He said the school has only one security guard, which the Public School System hired since last year. The security officers are subcontracted from EGO Security group. The guards have been assigned to watch the school from 7pm to 7am from Monday to Friday and 24 hours during weekends.

The guard on duty at the time told Barcinas that when he did his rounds at 1:30am he saw three young boys roaming outside the school’s premises. The guard said he usually does his rounds every hour but the culprits still managed to sneak in. Barcinas said he asked the guard how the burglars could have broken into the 13 rooms without him being alerted by the commotion.

Barcinas spoke with the security guard and discussed the necessary changes in his schedule of rounds yesterday morning. He said he mandated the guard to be visible within the school premises at all times, making sure that the school is safe.

“I could blame the security guard because he was hired to do his job,” he said.

Barcinas said DES was burglarized two years ago, losing a digital camera, a video camera, and desktop computers.

Barcinas said he believes that the burglars are from within the Dandan community or might even be alumni of the school.

He said he is devastated to see today’s youth vandalizing and burglarizing schools. “These are the kids we have now in the community,” he said, adding that he questions the values parents are teaching their children. “What are they doing?”

Barcinas said the parents should be doing their roles in taking care of their children, that if they don’t see their children at home, they should be fully aware of their whereabouts. He said if parents cannot take care of their children, then they should seek the assistance of the local authorities.

The principal said he would seek the help of the PSS legal counsel in putting up a sign within the school fence, making it illegal for people to stay within the school beyond school hours.

Barcinas is also appealing to the community to help them apprehend the culprits. He said everyone should do their part by dialing 911 whenever they see suspicious movements.

He also called the attention of the local government to do its part in upholding peace and security in the community.

Barcinas said priorities must also be given to the schools. “The Legislature should work with us to find ways to protect our schools,” he said.

Kagman High School’s Environmental Science and Oceanography room was burned down by suspected arsonists last May 28, while Marianas High School and Hopwood Junior High School were burglarized on June 1 and June 12, respectively.