A series of break-ins and burglaries on Boston University’s South Campus at 46 Mountfort St. and 6 Buswell St. are currently under investigation by the BU Police Department, according to an emergency alert email sent out Thursday.
The break-ins occurred on the evenings of Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, as well as the evening and daytime hours of Feb. 2 to Feb. 3. A “suspicious person” was seen in the laundry room of 46 Mountfort St. Jan. 30, according to the emergency alert email.
“The pattern indicates that a person or persons is active in the BU South Campus area targeting unlocked apartments and taking clothing items and personal property including opening mail,” BUPD wrote in the emergency alert.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the investigation is still ongoing, and the method of entry is currently unknown.
“We do not know exactly how that person stole the property,” Riley said.
Riley said BU Facilities Management and Operations staff is checking locks, but none of the incidents appear to have been forced entries.
“These look like crimes of opportunity,” Riley said, “which is again, similar to what takes place on campus where unattended property gets picked up and taken.”
Riley cited tailgating — holding the door for the person behind you as you walk through the door — as a security concern in South Campus residences.
“You think it’s a courteous thing, someone’s coming in behind you, hold that door,” Riley said. “We don’t know how they got into the building. We assume the doors are unlocked or propped open, but we don’t know until we complete the investigation.”
Kelly Nee, BUPD chief of police and executive director of public safety, wrote in an email a suspect in the laundry room intrusion was identified and the investigation is ongoing while the department is still looking into the other break-ins.
“Three apartments in South Campus had property removed from them,” Nee wrote. “2 of them had Canada Goose jackets taken, one had a coat of a different brand. One of those also had a wallet with credit cards taken.”
It is still unclear how the buildings were entered, but she wrote that the perpetrator may have been let in by residents.
“We don’t know,” Nee wrote. “Historically when we have had package thefts in lobbies, the perpetrators would [ring] bells to get buzzed in or wait until someone was exiting or entering and do the old ‘Hold the door’ to gain access.”
Nee noted it is a possibility the thefts were committed by “person(s) with legitimate access” to the residences.
“The investigation is underway,” Nee wrote. “BUPD has increased our presence in the area. Res Life is pushing out information regarding target hardening.”
Part of that information includes advising students to lock their doors — for however long they are away — whenever they leave their rooms.
College of Fine Arts senior Chaal Aydiner lives in South Campus and said she saw an unusual number of police cars outside of her building and increased police presence in the area since a break-in at her residence.
“As long as BU is in the city and not a closed campus,” Aydiner said, “we really cannot do anything other than just be careful to close the door behind us when we go out or not let anyone in that we don’t recognize.”
Anthony Neri, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences who lives in South Campus, said he and his roommates are being “more alert than usual” when it comes to security.
“My roommates and I are more careful about locking our door even if we’re just going downstairs to get mail,” Neri said.
BUPD provided safety precautions for students in Thursday’s alert email. Students were advised to avoid confronting intruders, make sure their doors were locked and speak with their neighbors so they would be able to spot suspicious characters.
“Getting to know your neighbors, even virtually through a Zoom building meeting is a good idea,” Nee wrote.
