A South Bay woman said that her Nativity scene display was stolen from her front porch overnight Thursday. The crime was caught on camera.
The Galindo family's San Jose house was all set up for Christmas to welcome family and their son.
“I was very, very upset,” said Alma Galindo.
The family’s cherished Nativity scene representing the birth of Jesus was stolen right off of their front porch at 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
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A man caught on camera in plain view filled up his bag with the figurines and took off on foot.
“That someone would just have the courage to walk up and take a Nativity, I mean who takes that?” Galindo said.
Galindo said that about an hour later, the man came back to take the rest of it.
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“At first my husband was like, ‘calm down, it’s fine.’ and I said, ‘no, it’s not fine,’” Galindo said.
The Nativity was passed down from Galindo’s mother. She hoped to one day give it to her children.
“For us, that was the meaning of Christmas. Growing up my parents didn’t have a lot, but to us that was meaningful,” She said.
Hours later, a neighbor who saw the post and video on the Nextdoor app brought the Galindo family a new one.
“I was astonished and shocked, it was crazy that someone was actually reaching out to help us,” Samuel Rodriguez, another neighbor of the Galindos said.
While praying the original is returned, the family is placing the new Nativity inside, starting a new tradition – that now also represents -- the kindness of strangers.
“Emotionally, [it was like] God, you’re showing me something and I’m grateful. I’m grateful. There are very good people out there. A lot of good people,” Galindo said.
