Public Safety finds burglarized cars

Public Safety officers discovered nine burglarized cars parked in student parking lots 21, 23 and 23A Thursday and Friday, Steven Healy, director of Public Safety, said.

The cars showed evidence of forced entry that suggested the suspects broke a window to enter the vehicles and stole radios, removable radio plates and other miscellaneous items such as CDs, Healy said.

"We believe between two and three individuals came to campus between Wednesday at 11 p.m. and Thursday at 7 a.m. and randomly burglarized the vehicles," Healy said.

A Public Safety official beginning the Thursday morning shift discovered two burglarized cars, which prompted a more thorough search of the lots.

"It would be unusual to find even one burglarized vehicle [on the Princeton campus] so it was quite a shock to us as we began discovering the vehicles," Healy said.

The incidents are currently under investigation by Public Safety and Princeton Township police.

"We are just coming into the holiday season. We tend to get a lot of burglaries starting around this time every year," Detective Sergeant Jack Petrone of the Princeton Township Police Department said.

There are no suspects or witnesses, officials said.

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"We are aggressively pursuing every possible lead," Healy said. "We are trying to find out if there have been similar situations in the surrounding area or if other law enforcement units know of any bands or groups that could be responsible."

Healy encouraged anyone who was in the parking lot between 11 p.m. on Wednesday night and 7 a.m. Thursday morning to come forward in case they witnessed anything that might aid in the investigation of the incidents.

"Every small bit of information is like a piece of a puzzle so the more pieces we have, the more of a chance we have to identify the suspect," Healy said.