Police are investigating the theft of an Arizona state flag and more than $5,000 in missing equipment from Gallagher Theater last week.

The items were stolen last Wednesday from the theater in the Student Union Memorial Center sometime between 8:45 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., said Cmdr. Kevin Haywood of the University of Arizona Police Department.

The stolen equipment included a laptop, a video projection unit, two handheld microphones and a wireless portable microphone, said Bill Shiba, senior associate director for the Arizona Student Unions.

Media arts sophomore Allen Menasco, who was screening a movie at the theater that night, said he saw two college-aged men acting suspicious right after the movie.

"They were walking in and out of the theater, and no one recognized them as having been there to watch the movie," Menasco said.

Police could not comment on whether there are suspects in the case because it is being investigated, Haywood said.

Although there is no suspect information yet, the doors to the theater were open at the time of the incident, which meant the items were accessible to anyone who would have been in the student union, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman.

Shiba said he could not comment on how the suspects got in but said the items were secured at the time of the incident.

The equipment has to be replaced and will be taken out of the operating budget, Shiba said.

He said they are checking to see whether insurance will replace any of the items.

"We're going to do whatever we can to prevent this from happening again," Shiba said. "We can't afford to lose that much equipment."

If the perpetrators are caught, they will face felony charges, Haywood said.