A string of burglaries occurred in houses surrounding the University of Minnesota last week.

 

Robberies happen often come early fall, Minneapolis Police Department Public Information Officer John Elder said, because of the fair weather and influx of students living near campus.

 

When students return to the University in the fall, they sometimes forget to lock their doors, Elder said, especially if they’re moving from low-crime neighborhoods.

 

“If you’ve gone through your whole life without locking your doors, locking your doors here might seem a little different,” he said. 

 

Second year development practice master’s student Trupti Sarode and her four roommates were at home sleeping at 1:45 a.m. Saturday when a strange man entered their Southeast Como residence. He took cell phones, money and a camera from the residents’ bedrooms, Sarode said. 

 

“My roommate saw this male … in her doorway and gasped,” Sarode said. “He said, ‘Sorry, wrong room,’ and went into my third roommate’s room.”

 

The suspect entered the house through an unlocked window, she said.

 

“It was kind of scary because someone was in our bedrooms,” Sarode said.  

 

She said the stolen items were recovered in a trash can near the residence and were returned to the tenants.

 

Police have not yet identified a suspect.

 

Economics senior Michael Rolando and his six roommates realized their Marcy-Holmes residence was burglarized late Friday night after returning home around midnight to find their front and back doors open.

 

Though Rolando said he thought one of his roommates left the entrances open, he realized the house was burglarized the next morning upon finding an Xbox 360 and laptop missing from the living room.

 

Evidence wasn’t found at the scene, and the residents do not have information about potential suspects.