On Monday, Oct. 27, Augustana Public Safety and Rock Island Police responded to an attempted break-in at the Zander House Transitional Living Area (TLA), located along 10th Avenue. Public Safety alerted the community of the incident in a campus-wide email on Monday afternoon.
The email sent by Chief of Police Tom Phillis also stated that five vehicles were found to be broken into or damaged, with one reported stolen, in the Erickson Residence and Naeseth Townhouses parking lot, Lot L, in the early morning of Oct. 27. Phillis said the stolen vehicle, a maroon Hyundai Tucson, was found later that morning at approximately 9:30 a.m. with heavy exterior damage, on 31st Street and 15th Avenue in Rock Island.
According to Public Safety’s daily crime log, officials were first alerted to the suspicious activity in Lot L around 6:30 a.m. Phillis said three individuals were seen attempting to enter vehicles in Lot L and fled the scene after Public Safety patrol arrived.
Authorities described the suspects as Black males, between the ages of 12 and 17, wearing black hoodies and surgical masks.
At approximately 12:55 p.m., two individuals were reported by Phillis and in Public Safety’s crime log to be looking through vechiles and “jingling door handles” at Zander TLA and nearby houses. He said suspects never entered or damaged the TLA and left the scene before authorities arrived.
Phillis said the students inside the home secured themselves into their rooms. Augustana and Rock Island Police searched the surrounding areas and neighborhoods, he said, but were unable to locate the suspects.
The break-in attempt, as well as the vehicular theft and damages reported in the Erickson/Naeseth parking lot, remain under investigation, but Phillis said early information has led officials to believe the incidents may be connected.
“I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that the car burglaries at Erickson in the early morning hours and this trying to get into someone’s house are related,” said Phillis. “It’s probably the same people. I can’t say that for sure, but I’ve been doing this long enough to think that the two incidents are related.”
Since September, there have been four reported car thefts on campus, most often involving Kias and Hyundais. The past two vehicular thefts occurred in Lot L, including the most recent theft on Oct. 27.
Phillis said an attempt to break-in into student housing has not happened for a few years. In light of the recent incident, he said Public Safety has since added extra patrols and extended officers’ shifts.
Director of Residential Life Chris Beyer said that the most Augustana can do is continue having Public Safety patrol the campus and encourage community members to report any suspicious activity to Public Safety.
“The single most important thing is to keep doors locked. If you think about car thefts… [people attempting to steal a car] are going through a parking lot testing handles, and if they find one that’s locked, they’ll move on to the next car,” Beyer said.
However, junior Olivia Bernius said she believes the college can do more to keep students safe, such as installing security cameras in all campus parking lots to reduce chances of car break-ins and theft. She said the college needs to offer more transparency surrounding campus safety.
Since the TLA break-in attempt, Bernius said she has been extra cautious in fear of her own TLA being broken into, with her front and back porch doors unable to be locked. This is the case for most students who live in TLAs with porches, with only the main doors into the home being able to be locked.
“Even though my TLA is obviously not my house, only living there for a year, it makes me so uncomfortable to know that someone went through [a break-in attempt], and it’s possible for me to go through that because my porch doors don’t really lock,” Bernius said.
The residents of Zander TLA declined to comment.
