During Augsburg’s spring break, students were notified of two incidents that occurred on campus: a report of a stolen laptop in Einstein’s Cafe and an ongoing investigation of gunshots fired near Kennedy Center.

The details of the stolen laptop incident were sent out in an email from Director of Public Safety (DPS) Scott Brownell to all students on Monday, March 13. According to Brownell’s email, a student left their laptop at a table when they went to place an order at Einstein’s and returned to find that it had been stolen during the short time it was unattended. In the email, Brownell said that no suspects had been identified, but that the student’s property was believed to have been taken by “ juvenile, non-Augsburg students” who were seated near the public access computers. The stolen laptop was related to a “concerning pattern of incidents that have occurred in the Christensen Center,” according to Brownell’s email. On Wednesday, March 15, students and faculty members were alerted of another event that occurred over break when Brownell submitted a report to Augsburg’s A-mail regarding gunshots fired near Kennedy on Sunday, March 12. The report stated that the DPS called 9-1-1 after receiving a call about gunshots outside of Kennedy Center around 9 p.m. on Sunday night.

Within the three minutes, it took the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to arrive on campus, all suspects had fled the scene. MPD discovered that one bullet was shot into a fitness center window and lodged in a wall, but no one from the Augsburg community was injured. Residence Life student workers were also sent out this information in a separate email from Director of Residence Life Amanda Erdman, who in her email asked ResLife staff to “not forward this communication to anyone,” but to “provide on-going to [sic] support as students re- turn and ask questions.”