University of Central Florida police are searching for four people they say broke into at least 36 vehicles on campus late Monday.
Campus police responded to a report of burglaries around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning but the suspects escaped in a car that had been reported stolen, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The four suspects then crashed the vehicle on a nearby road and fled the scene.
Police say the suspects stole items by breaking car windows or entering unlocked vehicles at the Lake Claire Apartments. A tool believed to have been used to break the windows was recovered at the apartment complex.
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“These were bad guys who came with one purpose, and that was to break into vehicles,” UCF Police Chief Richard Berry said.
Officers reviewed video surveillance footage of the suspects to determine they stopped at the Fairfield Inn & Suites near campus after the crime.
Police checked each vehicle for fingerprints before vacuuming up the glass and taping broken windows shut.
Students had returned from spring break Monday after a week of no classes.
The university will station a campus police officer, a victim advocate and a Housing and Residence Life representative at the apartment complex this week to take reports and support victims.
The crime is similar to a string of vehicle break ins that have occurred across central Florida in recent weeks. The tool used to break windows at UCF is similar to the one used in those crimes.
A UCF spokesperson said it is too early to say the break ins are connected.
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