Fifteen bicycles were stolen from campus between Oct. 4 and Oct. 16, according to a notification sent by the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) on Saturday.
SUDPS arrested four suspects on account of four separate bicycle thefts in the same time frame, according to the alert.
Currently, law enforcement “has not established a connection” between the arrested suspects and a similar string of bicycle thefts last month, SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson wrote in a statement to The Daily. Authorities are actively investigating whether there is any link between the suspects.
There is currently no suspect information for the remaining 12 thefts in which suspects have not been arrested, but several witnesses reported hearing grinding and cutting sounds that appeared to be coming from a power tool, according to the alert.
Eight of the 15 thefts, as well as one attempted theft that resulted in significant damage, took place at the Escondido Village Graduate Residences. The remaining bicycles were stolen from the Main Quad, Hulme and McFarland Highrises, Clark Center, Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, Durand Building, Casper Dining Commons and Rains Apartments.
In order to reduce the risk of thefts on campus, SUDPS has “increased patrol checks of the bicycle parking areas, day and night,” according to Larson. He added that community members should report any suspicious activity to SUDPS in order to prevent future thefts.
Contact Tammer Bagdasarian at tbag ‘at’ stanford.edu.