By Gloria Vittadello
News Editor
The Signal and Campus Police work together on a weekly basis to inform the campus community about crime on and around campus. All records given to The Signal are public records and do not contain personal information. Some information provided may be triggering for some students.
During the past two weeks, Campus Police have received reports regarding slashed tires, a case of harassment, a car break-in and more.
Dude, where’s my Dasher?
On Sept. 26, two reports were made to Campus Police about a woman who was allegedly driving through Campus Town and Campus harassing and damaging property. All of the individuals related to the case were not students. The alleged assaulter is known to Campus Police, though her identity has not been disclosed.
A tire slashed
Campus Police was summoned to Panera Bread for a call about a punctured tire at about 1:44 p.m. The victim said she was picking up a DoorDash delivery from the restaurant when a white Toyota Camry turned into the do not enter drive-through.
The driver of the Camry got out of her vehicle, and proceeded to yell at the victim as she walked in and out of the establishment. When the victim came out of Panera, the assaulter, dressed in a black hoodie, was waiting by her car. The victim then said she witnessed the woman slash her rear passenger-side tire with a large pair of scissors, doing about $300 worth of damage. Right after, the driver fled the scene, north onto Route 31.
The whole interaction was caught on security cameras. The victim was able to take a picture of the alleged assaulter and her car.
Her journey to campus
After the white Camry driver left Panera, she began to follow a woman driving a black Dodge Journey into campus. The second victim, who found campus police sitting outside of Lot 7, said she was being followed in and out of Lots 3 and 4.
The second victim observed the Camry driver was waving her arms erratically as she followed the victim’s vehicle. After the driver of the Dodge eventually parked, the woman driving the Camry parked next to her and immediately made eye contact. She then took out a pair of scissors and stabbed a water bottle, all while maintaining a gaze, the victim said. The victim then stated the alleged assaulter hit her vehicle, but police did not observe any damage.
She was also able to take a photo of the Camry. The assaulters car was last seen leaving the College at about 1:51 p.m. A New Jersey Victim Notification form has been filled out, but there is nothing else to report at this time.
Stolen property
There were a couple of thefts on Sept. 24 and 22.
September 24: iPad’s first towers visit
A College faculty member made a call to Campus Police around 12 p.m., after he realized he no longer had his Apple iPad. He said the last place he had it was in Roscoe West on Sept. 23, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. He made attempts to find it, but was unsuccessful.
He used Apple’s Find my iPhone app, and saw his device was dinging in Travers or Wolfe at 9 p.m. The staff member said the device has since been turned off. The estimated cost of the iPad is $570.
September 22: Don’t spend it all at one place
In the North Lot of Campus Town, a student reported a car break-in. The Campus Town resident the last time he was in his car was Sunday, Sept. 20. When Sept. 22 rolled around, he went back to his vehicle and observed his registration, insurance and other papers were scattered in the front of his car.
He did notice something was stolen though: a dollar. The intruder also left something behind, a bar-shaped item on his dash board, that appeared to be soap. The student said there were short black hairs on it as well. He stated his front passenger door doesn’t function properly, which could have been how the intruder got in.
Fire alarms
There were over a dozen incidents of fire alarms between Sept. 20 and 29. They were primarily due to steamy showers, hair dryers and even an air freshener. The Townhouses, specifically the Townhouses East, which had seven triggered alarms, faced many evacuations. One of the alarms was triggered for seemingly no reason.
September 29: A warm hair dryer
At around 1:00 a.m. there was an alarm that went off in the Townhouses East, with light strobes and audible sirens fully activated. The alarm went off on the first floor of one of the units. There, a female student said the alarm went off while she was blow drying her hair, which was still warm when the police checked.
September 28: The rules of air fryers
On the third floor of one of the units in Townhouse East, at around 3:52 p.m., strobes and audibles were active, and there was a full evacuation. Campus Police reported there were no signs of fire, but officers noticed a haze of smoke and smelled something burning.
The resident of the dorm said he was using an air fryer, and placed a packaged sandwich inside of it, which caused the smoke and smell. He took the air fryer outside, and showed the cops the burned paper. Officers advised him to not cook wrapping paper again.
September 23: Burnt popcorn
At approximately 9:55 p.m., a smoke detector went off in Wolfe Hall. When Campus Police got there, strobes and audibles were not activated, so the officer manually turned it on. On the seventh floor, there was a strong odor of burned popcorn coming from one of the dorms.
When officers entered the room, there was no food, but it was determined the alarm went off because of careless cooking.
September 22: Steamy showers
Both the Townhouses West and East experienced alarms go off due to shower steam. Both buildings were completely evacuated, but returned safely once Campus Police deemed the area safe.
September 20: A sensitive alarm
At approximately 4:58 p.m., an alarm went off in the Townhouses East for what seemed to be no reason. Students were fully evacuated from the building.
September 20: Burnt steak
Campus Police were notified of an alarm that went off in Campus Town building 600 at around 5:40 p.m. Upon entering the room, police reported the room was smokey and there was a smell of charred steak. The resident of the apartment said the alarm went off when she was cooking a patty, but left it in the pan for too long. The building was not evacuated.
