NATCHEZ — A half-completed Habitat for Humanity house on Martin Luther King Jr. Street was vandalized last weekend.

Habitat for Humanity’s Natchez volunteer coordinator Duncan McFarlane said Monday he discovered extensive damage done to the central heating system of the home.

“They cut the wires to get the copper,” McFarlane said. “They also stole a compressor, a saw and a few extension cords.”

However, McFarlane said he’s not sure how anyone could have gotten into the home.

“The locks didn’t look like they were tampered with,” he said.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that uses volunteer labor to build affordable housing for low-income families, one of the requirements is that each eligible adult in the family must put in 250 hours of work at the construction site, known as “sweat equity.”

The home was being built for a married couple with four children.

“It’s just frustrating,” McFarlane said. “We are trying to build houses for lower income families and to have someone come and do this — it just makes you mad.”

Habitat for Humanity is currently waiting on an estimate to see how much it will cost to replace the central heating system.

“We will file an insurance claim once we get a complete list,” McFarlane said.

Natchez Police Department Detective Jerry Ford said the case is still under investigation.

“We didn’t find any signs of forced entry,” he said.

Ford said he suspects someone may have forgotten to lock a window or a door to the unoccupied residence, which is an important step to take when leaving a home.

“Make sure your windows and doors are secure,” Ford said. “When you have a situation like that going on, inform your neighbors and let them know that the residence is unoccupied or call the police department for extra patrols.”

Donations to cover insurance deductible costs for the home can be mailed to P.O. Box 100, Natchez MS, 39121.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000. Crime Stoppers offers a reward for tips leading to an arrest.