Firefighters at the Grove Place Fire Station, out on an early Tuesday morning call to battle a blaze, returned to find the station house had been broken into and burgled during their absence.
Police on St. Croix are investigating the break-in, which occurred sometime between midnight and 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Fire officials told police that they were dispatched to a structural fire in Estate St. Georges just after midnight and returned to the station at approximately 3:30 a.m. It was then they discovered that unknown people entered the station through a locked door and removed several items, including three laptop computers, a digital video recorder and a licensed firearm.
Police Commissioner Novelle E. Francis Jr. and Fire Services Director Victor Browne were on the scene Tuesday. The case will be turned over to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for follow-up.
Anyone with information on the burglary can call Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives at 712-6077 or 712-6037, or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-TIPS.
