PHOENIX — Deer Valley Middle School staff are showing everyone what the season of giving is all about. On Nov. 1, a thief targeted the property of one of their 8th graders, Bryan Garcia-Ramirez. His new electric scooter was in the school bike rack in the morning but was gone by the afternoon.
“It just made me mad and sad, like, disappointed in myself," Garcia-Ramirez said. "I didn't have a lock to lock up the scooter that my mom had just bought me.”
The brand new scooter, only two weeks old, was taken in an instant. Security camera footage provided to 12News shows a person dressed in dark clothing scale the fence bordering 27th Avenue, grab the scooter, hurl it over the fence, and ride away on it.
“Bryan actually came down to the office right after school and said, 'Hey, my scooter is stolen. What can we do about it," Deer Valley Middle School Principal Ray Utter said. "I'm surprised that a grown adult would steal from a student, knowing full well that it was in a bike rack."
It didn't take long for Bryan's teachers, coaches, and staff at the middle school to hatch an idea that would make Bryan's day. His wrestling coach, Rocky Hernandez, and over 10 other staff members pooled their money together and bought him a brand-new electric scooter.
"It's unfortunate that someone has to steal someone's property. He looked really upset, so we didn't like to see that," Hernandez said. "It was no matter how small or big. We just wanted to get something together and help him out."
Within two days, the staff surprised their student with the new scooter. They invited his mom to attend the surprise, something Garcia-Ramirez described as bringing him "a lot of joy."
"I don't know how I can repay them. I'll repay them somehow," he said.
The good deed shows the Valley what their tight-knit school community is all about.
“People always say, 'Well, put your money where your mouth is'. And when it came to supporting our students, that's exactly what they did. And did it very quickly, and they didn't even hesitate," Utter said.
Bryan said his new scooter goes even faster than his old one. The actions of his mentors left him feeling eternally grateful that they would think of him during the holiday season.
"I love this school so much because of what they did for me," he said.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.