June 13, 2003 – The 100-plus Junior ROTC firearms missing after a May 31 break-in at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School on St. Thomas were found at the school on Friday, according to police.
Based on information received from someone in the community and during a follow-up at the school by members of the Forensics and Criminal Investigations Units, the rifles were found stashed in a ceiling near the Junior ROTC room, a Police Department release stated.
Sgt. Thomas Hannah, police spokesman, could not say who tipped the department off about the location of the guns, as the investigation is ongoing. "We just wanted to assure the community that those rifles were found and were not back out on the street," he said.
As police officers were proceeding with their the investigation, someone told them to "look up," he said.
Initial reports of the theft and substantial vandalism in three classrooms and an administrative office stated that 90 Springfield rifles and 20 other firearms were missing from the Junior ROTC room.
Hannah said on Friday night actually 108 firearms had been taken and that all of them have been recovered.
Authorities noted when the theft was reported that the firing pins had been removed from the Springfield rifles and that anyone attempting to adjust them might harm themselves or others.
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