A University student woke up Wednesday morning to find his Jeep Grand Cherokee had been spray-painted with a long, green stripe over the hood, ending with an “X” over his gas tank.
Rick Wymer, a natural resources forest products marketing student, said at first he thought it was antiwar because of the marking on his gas tank but later that day found out it was Earth Day.
“It’s just so ludicrous, the whole damn thing,” he said. “They have no idea I’m a natural resource major. It has a V-6 and gets the same gas mileage as a Dodge.”
Minneapolis Police Sgt. Rick Duncan, who handles all Minneapolis graffiti calls, said another vehicle was vandalized with green spray paint in the same neighborhood on Earth Day.
“Since when was Earth Day about violence?” Wymer asked.
In other police news:
A University police officer responded to a call Sunday that a group of men was driving a golf cart on campus.
The responding officers sighted the golf cart headed toward Sanford Hall at approximately 6 p.m. but were unable to locate it upon arrival.
A call from a Sanford employee led officers behind the building to the golf cart, which had been abandoned near the loading dock.
The cart’s ignition was dismantled and a lock attached to the steering wheel appeared to be unscrewed from a wall, according to the police report.
University police are still investigating a golf cart that had been recovered from five men two weeks ago. Both incidents happened near Sanford Hall.
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A woman was trapped in an elevator for approximately one hour after electricity was lost in the Ecology Building on the St. Paul campus.
University police and firefighters responded to a smoke alarm in the building.
There had not been a fire, but a smoldering transponder activated the smoke alarm and caused the loss of electricity, according to the report.
Ecology Building staff said a University facilities crew installed a temporary solution for the electricity problem and would create a more permanent installation this fall.
The woman was released from the elevator with no injuries, according to the report.
Rocky Thompson covers police and crime. He welcomes comments at [email protected]
