Burglars take 400 lb. safe from Bagel Builders

A safe containing more than $1,000 was stolen from Bagel Builders in Houston Hall early Sunday morning. The perpetrators used a key to gain entry to Houston Hall between 12:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., then slid under a security gate at the entrance to the Hall of Flags. They left the premises with the restaurant's 400 lb. safe, University Police Captain John Richardson said. A Bagel Builders employee discovered the safe missing at 6:30 a.m. and notified Philadelphia police. The suspects were able to get underneath the security gate that covers the doorway to the Hall of Flags because it does not reach the bottom of the floor, Richardson explained. He added that University Police believe "at least" two people participated in the burglary, since they removed such a heavy safe. Bagel Builders area manager Kelly Lyman confirmed that the safe contained at least $1,000, but noted that the money was not only from Sunday's business. Lyman said Bagel Builders has "taken measures" to prevent the stolen safe's new replacement from being taken. Last spring, two men with guns tied up a Bagel Builders manager and stole more than $500 from the store. The incident occurred late at night, but before Houston Hall closed. Students were in the building, though not in the Hall of Flags, at the time. Lyman said she spoke with detectives today about the burglary, but would not give any other information, citing the ongoing investigation by University detectives and Philadelphia Police. Houston Hall Services Director Tom Hauber, the building's landlord, said a security guard who was on duty in the lobby of Houston Hall until 3 a.m. Sunday did not notice anything suspicious. Hauber said he has "made steps to improve the situation" so that no one can get under the Hall of Flags gate. He also said he changed the building's locks after the burglary. The University gives keys to the managers of stores in Houston Hall, who distribute keys to their employees, Hauber said. He speculated that former employees of Houston Hall establishments may have been responsible for the burglary. The safe's theft was one of a string of campus crimes over the past few days, which saw another store and two students robbed. On Sunday, a male entered the Gap clothing store at 3423 Walnut street at 4 p.m. and took approximately 30 pairs of jeans valued at $700, Richardson said. The male knocked over an employee, injuring the employee's left hand. He fled the scene, heading west on Walnut Street in a dark-colored 1988 Oldsmobile driven by an accomplice who was watching for police, Richardson said. The employee refused medical treatment for his injured hand, Richardson added. Gap manager Keri Ganse referred all questions to Gap headquarters. Gap spokesperson Beverly Butler did not respond to requests for comment. In an unrelated incident early Monday, a student was approached at a pay phone at 41st and Chestnut streets. After taking the student's keys and identification from his pocket, the suspect used a stun gun on the victim's leg three times, Richardson said. The attack occurred at 1:30 a.m. The suspect fled east on Chestnut Street and north on 41st Street in a blue car, Richardson said. In another incident, a suspect approached two students at 41st and Pine streets. The man stole $30 from the students, claiming he had a gun. Last week, seven students were victims of armed robberies and a gunman stole $4,900 from Boston Market at 39th and Chestnut streets.