Minneapolis Catholic thrift store is broken into; safe and cash stolen

Under cover of darkness, someone punched a hole in the side of a resale thrift store near Lake Street in Minneapolis, crawled inside and robbed the place of several hundred dollars and a safe, the store's operators said Monday.

The break-in occurred about 3:15 a.m. Sunday at the St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store on 12th Avenue S., said Brian Woolsey, whose Society of St. Vincent de Paul runs the thrift shop on behalf of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

"I'm shocked," said Woolsey, whose store collects and resells goods, then uses the proceeds to assist needy people. "I'm outraged that they are taking this right out of the mouths that [the store is] feeding."

A security alarm was triggered after the hole -- up to 3 feet in diameter -- was poked through the wall nearest Lake Street, Woolsey said.

Cash from register tills was taken, as was a safe weighing about 100 pounds, suggesting to Woolsey that more than one person was involved.

Woolsey added that security video discs were also taken, leaving himself and others who run the store to think that someone who works or once worked there might have had a hand in the crime.

Ed Koerner, the store's executive director, estimates that "hundreds, maybe up to a thousand dollars" was taken from the shop, which opened in 1994. There is another $2,000 or more in damage to the building, Koerner added.

PAUL WALSH