SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Two thieves were caught on video breaking into a San Francisco boxing gym early Saturday morning. The owner of Bay Breakers Boxing Gym can’t help but feel “sad and angry” after valuable items were stolen from her business.
The gym was burglarized around 5 a.m. when two unknown suspects entered the business, the San Francisco Police Department said. Officers arrived at the scene within about 10 minutes of receiving the call, but the suspects were already gone.
Thieves got away with the gym’s computer, card reader, public announcement system, boxing gloves and hand wraps. No suspect descriptions are available at this time, but surveillance video (above) shows the two intruders breaking into the business.
Bay Breakers Boxing Gym, co-owned and founded by Abbe Skinner and Daniel Rodriguez-Mendez, is located at 2001 Van Ness Ave. Even after getting burglarized hours earlier, the gym was back open for its members to work out.
“We still showed up. We still opened the gym,” Rodriguez-Mendez said. “It doesn’t matter. They got us in the first round, but there are 12 rounds in a fight.”
Despite the frustration of the break-in and feeling “violated,” Skinner appreciates the community’s support in the aftermath.
“It has been really heartwarming, the support we’ve gotten. We focus on the bad thing, but then immediately following that we have strangers on the internet (supporting us),” Skinner told KRON4. “At the end of the day, the bigger feeling is that feeling of love and support.”
Rodriguez-Mendez says the city is a “hostile” environment for small businesses but remains positive because of the outpour of support from the community.
“I know the (San Francisco) community is very supportive of small businesses, but the environment is hostile to small businesses,” Rodriguez-Mendez said. “We had a huge outpour of support that made me tear up a little. It reminded me why we are doing this.
“Just a couple of bad people doing what they need to do to survive or just because we were an easy target, shouldn’t overshadow the fact that we’re here to build a community… it’s not going to stop us.”
Rodriguez-Mendez added that the best way to support the gym is to take a class and show up.
As of Monday morning, no arrests have been made at this time. SFPD says anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact the department at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.”
Bay Breakers Boxing Gym opened in February of this year.
