An Irving nonprofit is trying to recover an estimated $20,000 in stolen tools and equipment after thieves broke into its new facility on the same night as its grand opening celebration.
The DFW Curling Club celebrated the opening of its 30,000-square-foot facility Sunday after years of fundraising and months of work by members to get the space ready.
But the celebration took a devastating turn when surveillance cameras captured an intruder on the building’s porch just 30 minutes after members locked up for the night.
Club President Brigitte Minucci said a member first discovered signs of the break-in Monday morning.
Food had been thrown around, papers and gloves were scattered, and doors throughout the facility were left open. Members soon discovered that tools stored in a back ice shed were missing, along with electronics including an iPad, speakers and a computer.
Surveillance footage revealed a break-in that lasted several hours, showing a man walking throughout the facility wearing merchandise taken from the curling club’s pro shop. Another person eventually joined him.
Minucci estimated the losses at $20,000, with most of that amount involving power tools belonging to club members who spent months preparing the facility for its opening.
The thieves also damaged a trophy belonging to the club.
Minucci said, “This is our USA National Curling trophy and they broke it.”
For members of the nonprofit, which relies on member funding and spent years raising money to secure its own space, the theft was especially painful.
Minucci described the emotional whiplash of celebrating a long-awaited milestone only to discover the damage the following morning.
“I joked today, I said we cried when we got on the ice, and then apparently we cried the next day, too,” Minucci said.
Irving police are investigating the break-in.
Minucci said she hoped evidence left behind, including smudged handprints on a door she said the thieves forced open, would help investigators identify those responsible.
But her biggest priority is recovering the stolen tools so members can continue their work at the facility.
“We need to keep moving forward and right now we can’t,” Minucci said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.
