Director of Safety and Security Chris Beckrich sent out an email Tuesday to Texas Wesleyan students and faculty to alert them to a recent rash of vehicle burglaries on campus.

Beckrich’s email described the burglaries and also gave a description of the suspected burglar.

“The vehicles that have been broken into have had their window smashed out and items taken from the vehicle,” Beckrich wrote. “The predominate times have been between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m. Suspect is a black, male 5’9”, mustache, small goatee, wearing loose black beanie, loose gray pants and black hoodie. Items targeted have been purses left in the vehicle.”

Freshman Sarah Morgan said she was alerted to the burglaries by the email and would be taking measures to assure that she was safer.

“I’m not gonna leave anything in my car for sure,” said Morgan. “I’m also changing where I park.”

Morgan said she had noticed a suspicious person recently when she was going to her car.

“I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to be seen as profiling,” Morgan said.

On Wednesday, Beckrich answered additional questions regarding Tuesday’s email.

Q: Where did these break-ins take place?

Beckrich: “The break-ins took place in three separate parking lots: Lot X (gravel lot off Binkley), the Stella parking lot, and Lot U.”

Q: What specific time and date did they happen?

Beckrich: “The incidents took place between the hours of 5 a.m. and 2 p.m., between the dates of Jan 18-28.”

Q: How do we know what the suspect looks like?

Beckrich: “We know what the suspect looks like because we were able to capture an image of him on one of our many security cameras across campus.”

Q: Is the suspect thought to be a student or someone from the neighborhood?

Beckrich: “The police believe that the suspect is not a student.”

Q: What will the university’s “increased” campus security entail?

Beckrich: “Increasing campus security involves alerting campus of the incidents through Timely Warning emails, distributing a picture of the suspect, and increasing parking lot monitoring through additional patrols and camera monitoring.”

Q: What will FWPD’s increased presence look like?

Beckrich: “Increased presence from the FW Police includes a mobile unit brought to campus, increased patrol of parking lots and undercover operations.”

Q: How frequently does this type of crime occur on campus?

Beckrich: “This type of crime occurs very seldomly here, but we do occasionally see a string of incidents. The safety and security of our students is our top priority. Our campus is monitored very closely on a regular basis, especially the parking lots. We have 68 cameras monitoring across campus and our we have security officers monitoring 24/7.”

Q: Was anyone injured during these break-ins?

Beckrich: “No one has been injured during the break-ins. The cars were parked.”

Q: With the description of the suspect very clear, how old do we think he is?

Beckrich: “The suspect appears to be between the age of 20-30 years old.”

Q: When was the last time this occurred on campus prior to these incidents?

Beckrich: “Prior to these incidents, the last time a break-in of this nature occurred on campus was May 2018.”

Q: How many times has this occurred in 2018?

Beckrich: “In 2018, incidents of this nature occurred four times. Because of our security cameras and monitoring, we were able to identify the actor responsible for several of the incidents and gave information to FWPD which led to an arrest.”

Not all students seem to be aware or worried about the recent break-ins on campus. Senior Moe Dosare was one of 12 students asked who did not know about the burglaries.

“I didn’t know anything about it, and I’m not worried about it. Most of my classes are in the morning so I just go to class and leave,” Dosare said.

Students and faculty can report and suspicious activity to Campus Security at 817-531-4911 or the FWPD at 911, according to txwes.edu.