A University student was the victim of a theft in Smith Hall on Thursday.

Biology, society and environment freshman Jennifer Chudoba said she hung her coat and backpack in the hall during her chemistry lab.

Chudoba said she didn’t notice anything missing until she went to Starbucks after class. When she tried to pay, she noticed that her lanyard with her keys, debit card and U Card was missing from her coat pocket.

University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said thefts from University buildings during business hours are rare, but he said the best way to keep valuables safe is to keep them with you.

Chudoba said she thought it was unusual the theft happened in a University building and that she would keep a closer eye on her belongings, even during class, from now on.

Fire extinguisher sprayed in dorm

A fire extinguisher was discharged on the fourth floor of Pioneer Hall last weekend, prompting response from the Minneapolis Fire Department, according to a University police report.

When officials arrived for a fire alarm just after midnight Sunday, the Community Advisors on duty told a University police officer a student took a fire extinguisher from the wall and used it on the fourth floor of the building’s south side.

A witness told police that a man removed the fire extinguisher from the wall and sprayed someone with it. Police tried to find the victim of the spraying but were unsuccessful.

Residence hall staff cleaned up the mess from the incident, the report said.

Disability permits misused

Three University students were cited for illegally using disability parking permits last week.

University police issued the first at about noon Thursday outside the Civil Engineering Building. An officer saw a student enter a vehicle with a Florida disability permit, according to the police report. The student removed the permit and started to drive away.

The officer stopped the student and asked about the permit. She said she had a permit, but it was possible that she had taken the wrong one from home and was using her mother’s.

The officer checked and found neither the student nor her mother had a permit issued in Florida or Minnesota, and the permit she was using belonged to her deceased father. He asked the student where her father was, and she said her father was at home in Florida.

The student admitted to using the permit because she couldn’t afford to pay for parking, the report said.

University police issued the second citation about 30 minutes later at the same location. A University police officer called the owner of the vehicle with a permit displayed and told the man that his son was using it. The officer then left a message on the student’s cellphone telling him the car could be towed.

The student said his father was with him in the car earlier. When the officer told him he had already spoken to his father, the student admitted to using the permit because he was late for class.

Finally, University police issued the third citation at about 1:30 p.m. Friday, also outside the Civil Engineering Building.

An officer called the student whose family owns the vehicle, according to the report. The student admitted to using the permit, which belonged to his deceased grandmother, because he didn’t want to be late for class.

The officer confiscated the permits in all three cases.

Miner said the illegal use of handicap permits isn’t particularly common, but police sometimes issue the citations in bursts if an officer decides to keep a closer eye on permit use around campus.

“It ebbs and flows,” he said.