Parents, students and owners are reacting after a video showed someone breaking into a San Jose martial arts studio and stealing several valuable items.
Owners expect to lose thousands of dollars due to damage and stolen items.
This dojo is very special to owner and lead instructor Dave Cantrell, who has been teaching for over 20 years. This is a second home for him, his wife, and some of his students as well.
But all of that was thrown into disarray Tuesday morning.
“Things can be replaced. What we can't replace is the confidence that everything will be okay,” he said.
Surveillance video captured a person wearing a hoodie breaking the front door of the home around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Cantrell said the person entered the office and left within three minutes with as much luggage as could fit in both arms.
Cantrell told NBC Bay Area on Thursday that the person took multiple weapons from his office. Many of them can be seen in the pictures on the walls used by students.
But the most valuable thing to Cantrell is the set of swords his mother gave him.
“My mom was really excited when I took over the studio. She gave me a custom sword set, but it got stolen and I lost her in 2019. So , I hope he enjoys it, but it's so special that it has no value other than to me and my wife,” he said.
Students like Natalie Ramos were also hurt by the incident.
“I was a very lost kid, a very shy kid, very insecure, and this place gave me a lot of confidence. It gave me a lot of confidence later in life. It gave me the skills,” she said.
The owner had to close for cleaning on Tuesday. Her parent Megan Reynolds took her 6-year-old daughter there last year.
“It was shocking. I feel sorry for them. And my daughter was really upset because it was the night she was supposed to have class,” she said.
Cantrell is supported by the support of parents and students. He teaches self-defense here, but he says he's not going anywhere.
San Jose police said the investigation is ongoing.
