Thieves in New York stole about 400 bulletproof vests meant for medical workers and humanitarian aid volunteers in Ukraine.
Tactical gear items were being collected from around the country in an effort by American law enforcement agencies and other groups to help Ukraine fight against Russia’s unprovoked invasion. About 400 bulletproof vests were gathered and placed in a Manhattan location that was reportedly “visible to the public.”
At some point during the middle of the night of Tuesday going into Wednesday, the vests were removed from the building in the East Village neighborhood. Surveillance footage from a business next door shows three vans pulling up outside the building. Men in hoods began carrying the boxes out and loading them into the vehicles., WNBC-TV reports. Someone discovered the boxes were missing a little after 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Since then, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine has launched an effort to have the vests replaced, Fox News reports.
“400 bulletproof vests about to be sent to Ukraine have just been stolen from a Ukrainian community center on the Lower East Side. Disgusting. NYPD investigating,” wrote Levine in a tweet.
