The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) on Friday reported a mugging and an attempted burglary that occurred near campus last week.
A resident at the Alpha Phi sorority house at 14 Sawyer Avenue, in Somerville, reported early Friday morning that a man put a ladder on the building's fire escape. The resident "believed that he was attempting to gain access to the house, but the windows were secure."
TUPD also distributed a composite sketch of the suspect, as described by the resident. The suspect was described as a short, stocky white male with olive-colored skin, dark, short, buzzed hair and thick eyebrows.
Upon receiving the call from the resident, TUPD and the Somerville Police quickly searched the area but failed to locate any suspects.
Panhellenic Council President Jessica Snow, a senior, said that it seemed that men seem to be specifically targeting sorority houses. A similar event occurred on March 28, after a burglary was thwarted at the Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII) house on Whitfield Avenue.
In that instance, the burglar, who gained access to the house, fled after a female resident spotted him taking a laptop from her bedroom.
"We have our letters on our houses that say we're sororities," said Snow, an AOII member who sent an e-mail to sorority sisters warning them to take precautions in light of these crimes. She said that AOII has dealt with two or three similar instances over the past couple weeks.
"There are tons of other houses in this area that have college students that haven't been targeted," she said. "It seems odd to me."
Motion-sensor lights and security screens on first-floor windows have since been installed at the Alpha Phi house, Snow said.
The rash of crime has not been limited to thefts from residential buildings. The e-mail sent on Friday also described a mugging, which occurred around 1:40 a.m. on Friday morning.
The victim, a 47-year-old man, was beaten and robbed by three white males, who were all described as approximately 20 years old and 5'10" to 6' in height. They had "a clean-cut appearance," were clean-shaven and wore jeans and sweatshirts.
The robbery occurred on Boston Avenue, near its intersection with College Avenue.
The victim told police that the "suspects beat him in the area of his face with their fists and took an unknown amount of U.S. currency from [his] wallet," the report said.
