University Of Chicago Students Among Hyde Park Burglary Victims
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Chicago police are investigating a rash of home break-ins in Hyde Park. In at least one case, a thief threatened a University of Chicago student with a stun gun.
City records show at least 11 home break-ins in Hyde Park over the past month.
The Chicago Police Department said they are investigating whether the break-ins are related. In the meantime, they are increasing patrols in the area.
University of Chicago grad students Daphne Yu and Maggie Acosta's back window is now protected by steel bars and a piece of wood lodges it shut.
"I, for days, didn't stay in my apartment," Yu said. "The person who broke in came through a window."
Yu said she was in her bedroom near 54th and Woodlawn between noon and one when a stranger walked in.
"This person put on their ski mask and I realized, OK, I'm probably getting robbed. When that realization hit me, they were already standing over me with the taser," she said.
Yu said the man told her to unlock her phone. She said to buy time, she pretended like she didn't understand him.
"After I spoke to him in two different languages, he seemed really shocked and backed away for some reason," she said.
The offender grabbed Yu's iPad and laptop, and Acosta's wallet and keys before taking off.
Yu and Acosta say the university should alert students "so that students can be proactive."
In a statement, University of Chicago representatives said they have been working closely with the Chicago Police Department to address the recent off-campus burglaries.
"It's definitely shaken me up a lot," Acosta said. "I still have a hard time sleeping in my own room. It's strange to think about someone else in my house."
The two students live less than a mile from campus, and most of the recent break-ins have happened in an area about a mile northwest of campus.
