Authorities are investigating the weekend theft of about $50,000 worth of computers from a classroom at Lanier Technical College’s Forsyth County campus.

According to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office report, the theft appears to have occurred sometime between 5 p.m. Sept. 12 and 6:22 a.m. Monday.

Sheriff’s Lt. Duane Piper said investigators think the burglary was committed by someone who had prior access to the building where the Apple computers were kept.

"They took 21 desktop towers and the keyboards and the mouses, but they did not take the monitors," Piper said. "They knew where they were going inside the building and they had prepared beforehand to go in there."

Piper said the burglary could have been committed by anyone with access to the building, including employees or students.

"They bypassed the alarms," he said.

He declined to speculate on how many people may have been involved in the theft.

Piper said investigators are exploring the possibility that the burglary is linked to a Sept. 7 theft of more than $50,000 worth of computers and electronics from a weekly newspaper in Roswell.

According to the report, an employee discovered the computers missing after she arrived at work Monday. The report notes that the door to the classroom appeared to have been forced open.

Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call the sheriff’s criminal investigations division at 770-781-2200. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 770-888-7308.