Seguin High School volleyball team vans burglarized in Austin

According to the police report filed by the coach, equipment and uniforms, wallets, and personal items were stolen.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Seguin High School volleyball team vans were burglarized while the team was at a restaurant in Austin ahead of a tournament.

They were at Cheddar's on N I-35, and when they came outside, they noticed the doors to their vans were broken.

"Lo and behold, they come out and everything's gone," Sean Hoffmann, chief communications officer at Seguin ISD said.

According to the police report filed by the coach, equipment and uniforms, wallets, and personal items were stolen.

Some parents told the Seguin Today newspaper they were concerned that the police department didn't come out to take a report because it was not a violent crime.

"I think the common thought among everyone involved was that police would respond to this. I'm sure Austin PD has their reasons not to. We're just hopeful that they can look into this a little more and make it right," Hoffmann said.

While the team lost thousands of dollars in school property, the school district says they don't meet their deductible on uniforms.

"Budgets are tight everywhere. So obviously, this is something that wasn't expected or budgeted," Hoffmann said.

The booster club delivered clothes, so the team could continue to play in the tournament.

"They ended up playing Saturday, winning all of their volleyball matches on Saturday, going 3-0 in the Westwood tournament that day. They ended up winning their bracket in the tournament. They suffered a loss, but they bounced back and really came out ahead," Hoffmann said.

The Austin Police Department says they "regularly review response policies and procedures to ensure APD prioritizes calls with an immediate threat to life or property over non-emergency calls for service."

In October 2021, they changed call routing and response for non-emergency calls because of COVID-19 mitigation protocols, staffing challenges, and Reimagining Public Safety Task Force recommendations.

APD says use 311 or ireportaustin.com for crimes that don't immediately threaten life or property. Use 911 if there's an immediate threat.

The burglary is bringing the Seguin community even closer together.

"I think people were upset. People were shocked. People were willing to help, which is an important thing," Hoffmann said. "Seguin turns tragedies into miracles."

If you want to help the team, you can make donations in the following ways:

Venmo: