Monroe Township Little League has equipment stolen, property vandalized ahead of weekend game

MONROE TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Some players with the Monroe Township Little League team in Gloucester County, New Jersey won't be able to play out on the field Saturday morning.

On Friday, officials found that equipment and gear were stolen from their shed.

"I was devastated this morning," said Heather Brown, the Challenger League manager.

Surveillance video from the Monroe Township Little League Field on Church Street showed a group of people breaking open a lock, trying to get into the facilities.

The group got into the shed that stores the Challenger League's equipment around 1:30 a.m.

Brown manages the team for special needs players.

"I had to cancel tomorrow's game," she said.

The league's president says the thieves stole gear and equipment out of the shed and used the baseball bats to vandalize the bathroom.

"What's going through my head right now is a little bit of anger. It's a volunteer organization and we do everything voluntarily through the community here," said Jimmy Magee, president of the Monroe Township Little League.

As police are investigating, Jessica Simpkins says she put a message out on social media about the damage and immediately saw the community come together.

One resident saw the uniforms, gloves, and some bats on the side of the road.

Simpkins says roughly $1,000 has already been raised for new equipment.

"People want to help and they want to donate and they want to give and it's great. So something really bad turned into kind of good," said Simpkins, the vice president of softball for the little league team.

There are still a lot of broken pieces to pick up, but the team is thankful to the community for all of the support that they've shown.

Monroe Township police are investigating this incident.