NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Police are investigating after a Yale University student awoke to a burglar inside their home in New Haven last month.
Yale officials said the burglary happened at 5:28 a.m. on July 23 at a home on Edgewood Avenue between Park Street and Lynwood Place. According to police, the burglar fled the home after an altercation with the student.
Police said the intruder did not take anything from the residence.
The New Haven Police Department is now investigating the burglary.
In May, a graduate student at Yale University was sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a man who broke into their off-campus home on Elm Street, during the early morning hours.
In June, another Yale University graduate student reported a burglary after they awoke to find a man in their off-campus apartment on Mansfield Avenue.
Students in the area reacted to the crime.
“It’s extremely worrisome, like I said, being a student and living by myself, that’s very concerning,” said Adina Salguero Higgins, a student at Southern Connecticut State University.
Salguero Higgins is moving into a new apartment and is thinking about taking precautions.
“Now I’m a little concerned that I’m on the first level, do I have to worry about things like that? Apartments try to do their best but at the end of the day they can’t 100% guarantee everything is going to be safe so it makes me a little nervous,” Higgins said.
Yale tracks the number of break-ins on and off campus. In the most recent Yale security report released last year, there were 16 break-ins in 2021, 31 in 2020, and 39 in 2019.
New Haven police are investigating the most recent case as students are moving back to campus. Christian Thomas, a Yale sophomore moved in Tuesday.
“The intrusion definitely does make it feel a little frightful about things, but honestly I think that from my experience last year, I think that Yale handles things pretty well when it comes to safety concerns for students,” he said.
Yale Public Safety provided the following safety tips to prevent break-ins:
- Always lock your doors and windows
- Keep hedges near your doors and windows trimmed
- Make sure the entrance to your home is well lit
- Use a locking device that allows the window to only open a few inches for ventilation
- Secure window air conditioners while applicable
If you have any information, you are asked to call New Haven police at 203- 946-6316 or Yale police at 203-432-4400.
