SAN ANTONIO — Northside Independent School District said some buses were delayed Tuesday morning because of an incident at the district's north transportation station Monday night. NISD said catalytic converters were stolen from multiple buses.
"Unfortunately, the theft has caused some delay of routes. No routes are canceled though," the transportation director told KENS 5.
The transportation location that was burglarized is located west of I-10 on West Hausman Road.
Barry Perez, an NISD Spokesperson, said the transportation department was already experiencing some school bus delays "as a result of double runs being made with drivers out."
In June, a similar incident occurred in San Antonio ISD's bus yard. Dozens of transportation vehicles were damaged after thieves broke into the depot overnight, resulting in losses in the tens of thousands of dollars and sparking a police investigation.
On Tuesday, another incident involving a stolen catalytic converter left a man in critical condition. Police said a man in his 30s was shot by two people trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car early at an apartment complex on the east side.
Last month, Nannette Neugart owner of O’Brien’s Automotive, told KENS 5 her business is seeing an increase in catalytic converter theft.
“On a daily basis we’re getting 2 to 3 calls for catalytic converters being stolen off of vehicles," she said. “They’re stealing them because there’s a very valuable metal inside of them called platinum.”
Neugart says with the right tools, thieves can cut your catalytic convertor from underneath your car in minutes.
“Basically, the catalytic converter is a pollution-reducing unit,” Neugart said.
If stolen from your vehicle, she said it can cost anywhere from $600 to $3,500 to replace.
“The European and the foreign vehicles have more platinum in their catalytic converters, so they’re a little more of a target than your regular American- made vehicles,” Neugart said.
It’s been happening so often lately that the Seguin Police Department posted to their Facebook page warning residents to be on the lookout.