By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A thief is on the loose at Columbia University, scaling the ivy-covered walls to rip off at least three buildings, a campus safety notification warned students.
"In each case, the suspect attains access into the building, by scaling a wall to an upper floor, and entering through an unlocked window," said a flyer dated Jan. 4, available on the campus blog Bwog.com.
Once inside two of the buildings, the burglar used a fire extinguisher to shatter the glass doors that secured the offices, a separate notice, also available on Bwog.com, explained.
A police source told the New York Post that the robberies had occurred on Dec. 30 at Schermerhorn Hall, on Dec. 31 at Pupin Hall and Jan. 2 at Hamilton Hall. The source also told the paper of a fourth burglary, which is believed to have been perpetrated by the same person, on Dec. 16 at Fayerweather Hall.
All of the buildings that were reportedly struck were academic, not residential.
In an interview with the Columbia Spectator last month, Columbia's Vice President for Public Safety James McShane said the robbery suspect was known to police, having recently been released from jail for a previous string of robberies on the Columbia campus.
"He's now out of jail, he’s come back, we know who he is, and eventually he will be arrested," McShane said, according to the student newspaper.
Students and faculty were encouraged to lock their windows and contact Columbia Public Safety at (212) 854-5555 if they spot the suspect.
