Minneapolis Police: String Of Burglaries Near The 'U Of M'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis Police have a message for University of Minnesota students: keep your doors locked or you could lose your valuables. There have been at least 15 burglaries in the past two weeks, involving homes around the U of M.
"He probably just came in, stole the laptop, and then went right back out. Not the first time this house has been stolen from though," said U of M student, Cody Ciaj.
Ciaj's house was one of more than a dozen to fall victim to a burglary in the past two weeks.
"I honestly had no idea it was that many," said Ciaj.
This time it was Ciaj 's roommate who had his laptop stolen when someone walked in, grabbed it and walked right out. A few months ago, the same thing happened to Ciaj.
"I lost everything. Everything I had ever written, all of my essays and even my personal writing stuff, just gone," said Ciaj.
Minneapolis Police say burglaries in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood are up 11 percent from this time last year.
In almost all of these cases, police haven't found signs of forced entry. They say that's because students are leaving their windows open and their doors unlocked during the summer months. That makes their valuables an easy target.
"We know it's warm out and people have to be comfortable, but if you're home during the day, even having your front screen door locked and pinning your windows so they can only go up so far, reduces you from becoming a target," said Inspector Bryan Schafer of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Tim Roos will keep that in mind. Someone stole his $400 road bike off his porch last Friday night, when they walked in through the porch door. He won't get it back, but he will be locking up.
"A little angry -- not going to lie. I mean, who really likes getting their stuff stolen from them? We've been locking up a lot more tighter now," said Roos.
Minneapolis Police have increased burglary patrols in the Marcy-Holmes and Southeast Como neighborhoods. Burglaries are up 7 percent in the neighborhoods from two years ago.
Some houses had more than $3,000 worth of stuff stolen from them.
Schafer said one arrest has been made so far, but he believes others are involved.
