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Crime Blotter – Mirrors smashed, muslims threatened in bathrooms

Mirrors in men’s room smashed

The first floor men’s restroom on the south side of the Academic Services building was vandalized on Monday. An unknown, presumably male suspect went into the men’s restroom shortly after noon and smashed the pair of mirrors inside the lavatory, the sound of which shocked several nearby passersby and workers.

“I thought it was catering dropping glasses in the Anatol center,” said Deborah Guilbeau, an office assistant at Academic Technology Services offices located next door to the bathroom.

Guilbeau was working with fellow assistant Jessica Dominguez at the time and the pair stated that they heard the loud sound of shattering glass, then a pause before the sound occurred again as the second mirror was smashed. Dominguez presumed the suspect was a likely student as she witnessed a male subject wearing a backpack leave the scene. The suspect was wearing a black hoodie that looked “skaterish,” according to Dominguez, who said that he fled to the nearby parking lot next to the Cal State University Long Beach campus’ Seventh street entrance.

“[The sound] scared the hell out of me,” said Jessica Olague, the Assistant Director in the Teacher Preparation Advising Center for the College of Education. “I thought someone might be injured at first.”

Olague had been walking in the hallway next to the bathroom at the time of the incident, and said she turned around at the noise of smashing glass and witnessed the suspect from behind as he left the scene. Olague’s described his flight as “walking quickly,” not a sprint. None of the available witnesses to the crime could provide more description as to race, height or build.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” said Lt. Richard Goodwin of the University Police Department. “I’ve heard of vandals scratching mirrors, painting mirrors . . . but to go in and just break a bunch of mirrors? I don’t get it.”

Alleged stalker steals coin purse, harasses ex

A female CSULB student reported her ex-boyfriend for theft and stalking to the UPD on Monday. The woman said that her ex took her coin purse containing her ID at an off-campus coffee shop in Long Beach, and that when she confronted him on the street he dropped the purse and left. She then said that he began calling her and harassing her.

Goodwin said that in addition to investigating the stalking behavior, UPD was pursuing charges of theft for the attempted robbery of the coin purse. According to the campus police activity log, the ex-boyfriend is also a CSULB student.

“Detectives are working on it now,” Goodwin said. “We have the suspect identified. Without being able to divulge too much because it is an ongoing investigation, [the detectives] will review any camera footage and interview witnesses making it possible for us to file a case.”

Beachside bike theft despite precautions

A male student reported that his bike had been stolen from the off-campus Beachside dorms on Friday. The student’s bike was a black Micargi Super M1000 model, and he said that he had secured it with both a bicycle chain and a U-lock. Both security devices had been cut through, according to the victim, who had left town for a week only to return and discover the theft.

“I have no idea what could cut through a U-lock,” Goodwin said. “I mean, they have bolt cutters that are pretty big, but I don’t know.”

Pokemon pack pilfered by PCH

A “multi-colorful backpack with Pokemon cartoons,” illustrated on the side was reported stolen to the UPD by a male student on Friday. The theft occurred in the parking lot of the Residential Learning Center at the CSULB Beachside College off of the main campus.

The student had left the backpack on the ground outside near his car, which was parked near Pacific Coast Highway. He had entered the vehicle in order to talk on his phone, and said that he was unable to pay attention due to the phone call and when he finished the call he realized that his backpack had been stolen. The backpack contained a MacBook Air laptop, a binder full of sheet music and computer components, according to the victim.

“The backpack is outside of the car, and while they’re talking on the phone not paying attention somebody walked up, grabbed the backpack and ran off with it,” said Goodwin, who described the incident as a crime of opportunity.

Threatening message to Muslims in men’s room

The UPD received a report of a threatening message etched inside of the stall farthest from the door in the men’s restroom in Peterson Hall 2 on Friday. The message read, “We will kill all Muslims on Friday,” indicating that it had been written earlier in the week.

“It was scratched in, probably with a knife,” Goodwin said. “This was quite the topic [among the UPD staff] on Friday because of the hateful comments that were made.”

Goodwin said that currently there were no known suspects.

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