Parents, students and the owner of a San Jose martial arts studio are reacting after a video caught someone breaking into the business and stealing several valuable items.
With damages and items stolen, the owner is looking at thousands of dollars in losses.
The dojo is very special for owner and chief instructor Dave Cantrelle, he’s been teaching for more than 20 years. It’s a second home for him, his wife and even some of his students.
But all of that was disrupted Tuesday morning.
“We can replace stuff. The thing we cant replace is the confidence that everything is OK,” he said.
Surveillance video caught a person in a hoodie breaking the glass of his front door at around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Cantrelle said the person goes into his office and less than three minutes later, they come out with all of the items they could fit in both arms and then leaves.
Cantrelle told NBC Bay Area Thursday that the person took several weapons he had in his office. Many of them are seen in pictures on the walls used by students.
The most valuable for Cantrelle though is a set of swords his mom gave him.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“When I took over the studio, my mom actually was so excited. She got me a custom sword set and that was stolen, and I lost her in 2019. So, hopefully the guy enjoys it but it really is of no value but to my wife and I because it’s something special,” he said.
Students like Natalie Ramos was also hurt by what happened.
“I was a very lost kid, I was a very shy kid as well, very insecure, and this place gave me so much confidence. It gave me so many skills later in life,” she said.
The owners had to close Tuesday to clean up. Parent Maegan Reynolds has been taking her 6-year-old daughter there for the last year.
“It was devastating, I feel for them. And my daughter was really upset because it was actually on a night where she would have had class,” she said.
The support of parents and students is helping Cantrelle. He teaches self-defense here and he says he’s not going anywhere.
San Jose police said the investigation is ongoing.
