A group of University of Minnesota students think the brick thrown through their window Tuesday was retaliation for chasing away burglars Sunday morning.

Ian Kitchen, an advertising student at the University, found the front bay window of his house smashed and a brick on the floor after returning from an internship Tuesday afternoon.

Kitchen said he is âÄúpretty convincedâÄù the smashed window is connected to a group of teenagers caught trying to steal from his home.

At 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Daniel Newsom went to retrieve his wallet to ante up for a game of poker against his roommates.

âÄúI opened my door, and I see a guy laying on my desk with his legs dangling out the window,âÄù Newsom said.

The suspect, supported by a few friends, climbed through the window took a laptop, a wallet and a book of CDs before Newsom found him.

Seconds after being discovered, the suspect fled.

Newsom and Kitchen, along with another roommate, ran out of the house and an âÄúintenseâÄù chase ensued.

âÄúThere were like, eight of them,âÄù Newsom said, âÄúWhich we didnâÄôt realize until we got out of the house.âÄù

Newsom described the suspects as high school students between 15 and 17 years old. In the excitement of the chase, Kitchen ran barefoot.

âÄúI didnâÄôt feel it at all,âÄù he said.

The chase ended in a parking lot a couple blocks away when the teenagers threw the laptop into the snow.

The book of CDs was later found outside NewsomâÄôs window, and while the wallet was not recovered, Newsom said a friend found one of his credit cards when shoveling the next day.

Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty said police donâÄôt advise victims to chase after suspects, in case they are armed.

Newsom said he has mixed feelings about the incident.

âÄúI feel fortunate because I was able to get my laptop,âÄù he said. âÄúBut at the same time, IâÄôm fortunate that they didnâÄôt pull a knife or a gun on us while we were chasing them.âÄù

Police are looking into the burglary and the property damage, but Newsom said by the time they were able to call police on Sunday the teenagers had disappeared.

The brick incident has left its mark in more ways than one.

âÄúWeâÄôre a little shaken up and feel kind of unsafe here,âÄù Kitchen said. âÄúSo weâÄôre going to proceed with taking action and locking things down a little more seriously.âÄù

He said they will be taking âÄúany precautionsâÄù they can by installing dowel rods and boards in their windows. They will also make sure everything in the house is accounted for and may even start taking electronics with them when they leave.

McCarty said students worried about burglaries can do anything as rudimentary as putting nails in their window to installing special pins and locks that are available at hardware stores.

A door or window âÄúis only as good as its lock,âÄù he said.