Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Students Encounter Intruder in Nighttime Break-In

Two student residents of a West Georgetown home were victims of a nighttime break-in on Sunday.

According to one of the students, who asked to remain anonymous for her own safety, the sound of glass shattering at about 4 a.m. awoke her and her roommate, who then encountered an intruder in the rear of their residence, located on the 1200 block of 33rd Street.

Entering from an enclosed and well-fenced backyard, the suspect had broken the window in the victims’ basement room to unlock the rear door, according to the victim.

“I saw a figure standing right inside our back door and started screaming for him to get out, pointing at the front door,” she said.

Soon after, the suspect exited the building.

“He pretty quickly stumbled out, and he kept muttering ‘I’m sorry’,” she said. “It was very strange. It did not seem as if he intended to hurt us or even steal anything.”

The victims are uninjured and nothing appeared to be missing from the residence, according to a Public Safety Alert sent Sunday evening.

Once the suspect had left the home, the victims called the Department of Public Safety, which responded immediately and notified the Metropolitan Police Department shortly afterward, according to the victim.

After questioning the victims, DPS officers were able to detain a suspect that matched the victims’ description before MPD arrived on the scene, according to the PSA. The victims were taken within about 20 minutes in separate DPS cars to identify the suspect in custody; they described him as a white male of medium height and weight with brown hair, in his mid 20s, and wearing blue jeans and a gray hoodie sweatshirt.

MPD crime scene investigators inspected the residence directly after the crime, and MPD dispatched two officers to the home on Sunday afternoon to check the scene again, according to the victim. The university’s Office of Off-Campus Student Life also called and left a voicemail checking in on the victim and her roommate on Sunday morning, she said.

The victim said she was impressed by the speed and quality of the DPS, MPD and university responses.

“I’m so glad we called DPS as soon as we did, so that they were able to get a description of a suspect and detain a suspect so quickly,” the victim said. She added some final advice for students who are confronted by similar crimes. “Don’t wait until the next morning or anything, because by then it may be too late for DPS or MPD to do anything effective.”

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