Friday was anything but a typical school day for students at Selma’s Cathedral Academy. In fact, because of an early morning burglary it was not a school day at all.

Cathedral headmaster Father Brent Keith said administrators arrived at the school prior to the start of class greeted with the sounds of their alarm system.

Keith said a thorough search of the building revealed an even larger problem.

“We had laptops stolen and guitars,” he said. “It was a fairly sophisticated job. They cut the phone lines and turned off the power source to the building. This prevented the alarms from notifying the police.”

The alarm they did hear was a backup system, Keith said.

“When they opened the door it went off,” he said. “But because all of the lines had been cut, the alarm could not notify the police at the time of the break-in.”

The burglary seemed to be well-planned by someone who knew the building well, Keith said.

“They knew where to go,” he said. “They went upstairs and went from office to office prying the doors open with a crowbar. It was mostly things like the laptops and guitars that they took.”

Cash and checks that were at the school were not taken, Keith said.

The Selma Police Department responded quickly, Keith said, and had a crime scene investigation unit at the school. The unit collected evidence including fingerprints, however they are still seeking a suspect or suspects.

The items aren’t the only losses the school suffered, Keith said.

“We had to send all the kids home and cancel school because there was glass everywhere,” he said. “We have a lot of younger children here and we wanted to get all of that cleaned up before we brought them back.”

Keith said he hopes anyone with information connected to the burglary will come forward.