School District Shuts Down After Thieves Steal Catalytic Converters From Over 20 School Buses

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A group of yellowish schoolhouse autobus parked successful a Chicago lot

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Ripping nan catalytic converter disconnected a schoolhouse autobus has to beryllium nan automotive balanced of stealing candy from a baby. A Northwest Indiana schoolhouse territory was thrown into chaos connected Tuesday aft thieves stole the catalytic converters from 21 schoolhouse buses.  

Staff astatine nan Michigan City Area Schools Transportation Department discovered that nan catalytic converters were missing while preparing nan schoolhouse autobus for their greeting routes astir nan mini city, 45 miles eastbound of Chicago. According to WFLD, nan constabulary were called astatine 5:25 a.m. Investigators judge that nan perpetrators sewage into nan batch done an adjacent wooded area. It's clear that rule enforcement isn't taking this heist lightly. Marty Corley, Michigan City's constabulary chief, said:

"You impact kids, you impact families, you impact teachers, you impact nan city. When we do get nan fishy aliases suspects successful custody, past we will measure from there, but we will beryllium looking astatine nan highest imaginable charges for this crime."

Other schoolhouse districts stepped up to supply buses

Luis Benitez welds a caller catalytic converter onto a Chevrolet Silverado astatine Johnny Franklin's Muffler connected July 11, 2022 successful San Rafael, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It will return immoderate clip for Michigan City's schoolhouse buses to get replacement catalytic converters. Thankfully, different schoolhouse districts successful Indiana rallied to make judge that students had buses to get to school. Districts successful Le Porte, New Prairie, Union Mills and Warsaw offered vehicles for Michigan City to reopen schools connected Wednesday. Mark Fick, Warsaw's head of transportation, told WSBT:

"You decided to jump into action and supply thief to nan schoolhouse truthful show america why you did that. Well, it was a calamity and you sewage to get nan kids to school. So, I called up my superintendent and I didn't moreover decorativeness my condemnation and he's for illustration yup springiness them what they need. So, we jumped into action. I sewage a clasp of their proscription director, Sue, and she was fundamentally crying connected nan phone. She's for illustration immoderate you tin springiness america is what she told maine and they conscionable now picked them up."

While criminals look astatine nan catalytic converter and spot an opportunity for easy money, location is ever a unfortunate near without transportation. No criminal mastermind would consequence nan power from gambling nan acquisition of an full schoolhouse territory and costing taxpayers thousands of dollars. However, converter thieves aren't ever nan sharpest devices successful nan shed. Last year, a group of thieves successful Detroit looked for illustration Larry, Moe and Curly while breaking into a utilized car lot. They sawzalled their measurement done a gross lock, took conscionable 1 converter, past collapsed their gateway car. One fleeing fishy fell retired of nan car and dropped his gun. If they didn't person warrants for their arrest, they would beryllium signed to a Three Stooges reboot already.

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