Updated as of Oct. 4, 2021 at 11:12 p.m. to include additional video.
Elon Campus police, Town of Elon police and Burlington police are currently investigating a series of property crimes both on and off campus from over the weekend.
Chief of Police Joe LeMire told Elon News Network that Campus Police waited until today to notify students via a campus-wide email because “some people did not come in and report cases until Sunday or Monday.”
“We weren’t aware of things until people came in and told us,” LeMire said.
The crimes included 10 vehicle break-ins on campus and one stolen vehicle. The Town of Elon also had approximately five vehicle break-ins and one stolen vehicle. In most cases, the vehicles were found to be unlocked and accessible and both stolen vehicles were recovered.
Elon sophomore Sarah Hennis met with campus police Sunday after they notified her that her car was broken into.
“Everything in the glove box was everywhere in my car,” Hennis said. “They were tearing through it.”
Hennis said she thinks the suspect was looking for money or keys and left when neither were found. She said she has not received any follow-up from campus police at this time.
Both perpetrators were not students, but LeMire said both suspects are known and the investigation should not be a concern to students.
Because it is early in an ongoing investigation, LeMire said, there could be more crimes than Campus and Town police are aware of. LeMire said students often don’t realize they are a victim and that their cars have been broken into until they notice something like the glove box being left open.
“We encourage anyone that was a victim to report it as soon as possible to help us get the bigger picture,” LeMire said.
LeMire encourages students to follow good safety practices, such as locking vehicle doors, keeping valuable items out of the vehicle or out of sight and not leaving keys or key fobs in vehicles.