Burglar Takes Hamster, Sock Monkey From Autistic School

A thief ransacked a school for autistic children in Staten Island and stole laptops, video games, electronics—as well as a pet hamster, a sock monkey, and a set of rubber ducks. Students at the Eden II School for Children with Autism are shaken, according to executive director Joanne Gerenser, who said kids had made missing posters for the sock monkey and the ducks. "It just felt personal," she said. "That hamster was of no monetary value to anybody but the kids ... I felt that it was really malicious."

The Advance reports that the perp broke into the Elm Park school at some point over the weekend without setting off the security alarm. Once inside, the crook tore through classrooms and offices and grabbed the hamster—named Star—and its cage, as well as toys, laptops, phone chargers, a Nintendo Wii, iPods, Flip cameras, and other items. Police are investigating the incident.

"The kids who have the hamster, they were very upset," said Gerenser, who noted that many of the students had "never experienced anything like this." She added: "One of the students told us that she didn't sleep the night before because she was afraid."