Copper Thieves Hit Eastern Missouri School

Police in suburban St. Louis, Mo., believe it took weeks for copper thieves to vandalize all 23 air conditioners on a school roof.

The 23 units atop Jennings Junior High School were stripped of their copper coils, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage. KMOV-TV reports a maintenance worker discovered the thefts last week.

The air conditioners are useless without the coils, and the school district is looking at replacing them.

The thieves apparently used a ladder stolen from a home next door to the school. Megan Kinealy says her father found the ladder propped up against the school.

Kinealy also says her family noticed their dog barking at something in the neighborhood a few times recently, but nobody thought to look up at the school’s roof.