Gunfire reported near campus

Minneapolis and University of Minnesota police were called to the Burger King on Washington Avenue Southeast early Monday morning in response to a report that three men were attempting to shoot into the restaurant, according to a Minneapolis police report.

A witness told police in a 911 call that three men were attempting to shoot into the restaurant, police said.

Witnesses gave police “conflicting information” regarding the incident and the suspects, who had already left in a green sedan by the time police arrived, witnesses said. Others told police that an SUV had also been involved.

Police searched the area around the restaurant for shell casings and bullet holes but found nothing, according to the report.

“It might have been a starter pistol. It might have been a cap gun,” Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said. “It’s hard to say.”

No injuries were reported.

Police break up 40-man fight

Minneapolis police broke up a single house party with an estimated 200 people after being called to the party to stop a 40-man fight, according to a police report.

At least one partygoer threw a beer bottle at police who broke up the party, Garcia said.

A fight had begun in the house earlier that night and “spilled” out into the street early Sunday morning, Garcia said.

The fight wound down as officers arrived at the house on 27th Avenue Southeast, according to the report.

After spending 15 minutes trying to find the party’s host, officers dispersed the crowds, according to the report.

Officers cited a 19-year-old resident of the house for hosting a “disruptive party,” but no other citations were made in the incident, according to the report.

Officers reported that they had been called to the house in prior cases, Garcia said.

Homeless may be behind break-ins at U offices

While most rooms around campus sat unoccupied over break, suspects broke into at least three on-campus offices. But the suspects didn’t take anything, because they may have been looking for warm shelter, not valuables, police said.

“We’ve had some issues with some homeless individuals over time,” University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said. “They seem to be trying to neatly enter the rooms [and sleep there].”

The suspects pried off vents to enter an office in Lind Hall and a copy room in the Social Sciences Building. A University employee told officers that the Lind Hall office “smelled like someone homeless slept there overnight,” according to a police report.

Someone also pried off the trim around a window and removed the glass to get into another room in the Social Sciences Building, according to a police report.

Police can’t say if the incidents are connected or positively determine if homeless individuals are, in fact, sleeping in the rooms overnight, but the University has experienced problems of that sort in the past.

New security technologies, including key cards and security alarms, may cull the entries, Miner said.

“Sometimes they’ll come across a ring of keys, and it’s sort of a gold mine. It’ll let them into various rooms and buildings,” Miner said. “We’re slowly getting better and better as the physical security of the buildings is improving.”