Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: City

A burglar broke into the apartment of a female Northwestern student and used an electrical cord to detain her in a bathroom while he stole several items just after noon Monday, according to the student and an alert posted on NU's Web site.

"He put me in the bathroom with a robe over my head," said the victim, a Communication senior. "But he never made any indication that he was going to harm me."

The student awoke at 12:30 p.m. to see a man standing in the bedroom doorway of her apartment near the corner of Ridge Avenue and Davis Street, she said. The man directed her to walk to a bathroom and once she was inside, he secured the door.

"I heard a lot of noise and then I heard the front door close," the victim said. "I waited 2-3 minutes after I heard him leave before coming out."

Upon leaving the bathroom, the student discovered a computer, digital camera, Xbox and a small amount of money had been taken, said the victim's roommate, a McCormick junior.

The student also discovered the burglar's pair of black tight pants, said the roommate, which he called "really, really bizarre."

There were other odd things about the incident, said the roommate, who said he found out about the incident when the victim sent him a text message.

"Breaking into the top level of the apartment is really odd," he said. "The general assumption of life is that they're going to go for the first floor, not going to do a walk up to the fourth floor."

The burglar used a variety of tools to "tear through a very securely locked deadbolt lock," the roommate said.

Still, the victim and her roommate both said they thought the incident was random.

Cmdr. Thomas Guenther of the Evanston Police Department declined to comment on the case.

Shanik Patel, who lives in the apartment complex, said police knocked on his door at about 2 p.m. to show him a picture of a suspect, asking if he'd seen the man.

Police circulated through the complex warning residents about the incident and advising them to keep their doors locked, said Patel, a Weinberg senior.

The NU community was informed of the incident in a "security alert" on the university's Web site at 6:23 p.m.

Other residents of the apartment complex said some tenants are not careful enough.

"We're in college. We tend not to care," said Weinberg junior Alex Sokolovsky, who lives in the same building as the victim. "I know people will buzz people in before asking who it is. I've done it too."

The burglar gained access to the building Monday without having to break through the main entrance, the roommate said.

His roommate took every necessary precaution, he said.

"This was not a 'Hey guys, be a little more vigilant (incident),' " the victim's roommate said. "It's not like we have the door wide open. What would you tell people to do?"

sarapeck@u.northwestern.edu
b-rosenthal@northwestern.edu

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