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Wednesday November 27, 2024

Police track down 'unusual shoe thief' in Japanese school

"We were very worried, but we're relieved now that we know it was an animal," says school employee

By Web Desk
November 27, 2024
A representational image of a classroom in a kindergarten school. — Unsplash/file
A representational image of a classroom in a kindergarten school. — Unsplash/file

Police in a Japanese school installed security cameras after the shoes of students started disappearing and they caught the culprit, who is a furry weasel.

Gosho Kodomo-en, a kindergarten school in Koga, Fukuoka Prefecture contacted police for help after 15 shoes disappeared in November and three more were taken the following day the police was asked for help, according to The Guardian.

Police ended up setting up three security cameras in the school to catch the culprit and a single show vanished during the night of November 11.

When the police reviewed the footage to identify the shoe stealer, they were met with a weasel appearing from behind a wall and raiding the wall where the children store their indoor shoes in cubbyholes.

The weasel was then seen spreading all the shoes on the floor and ran away with one.

"We were very worried, but we're relieved now that we know it was an animal," a school employee told the Mainichi Shimbun.

Professor Hiroshi Sasaki at Chikushi Jogakuen University explained that the weasel had likely given birth and was looking for items to line its nest. The animal is known for sensitivity to the cold.

The school has added that they are now covering the cubbyholes with netting at night to keep the furry animals away and from stealing further shoes.