South Bend Police investigating string of burglaries

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Folks are being encouraged to lock up their doors after a scary string of events.

Jim Verhagen, shared his experience of his home being broken into in the Twyckenham Hills neighborhood.

“Saturday morning, I realized it was a little cooler," he began. "I went in the kitchen and both of these windows I had up, but I also noticed that the screen, like that, so we never pull the screen up. It goes up too hard for my cat to do it so there’s no way the animal did it. So, I looked on her alarm cam camera and it never set it off because they probably didn’t go around the corner where the camera picked him up,” said Verhagen.

Just a mile away, the Ridgedale neighborhood has fallen victim to a string of burglaries as well, leaving the tight knit community on the city’s Southside shook up.

“It’s concerning especially when you have young kids,” said longtime resident Pete Sampson.

Around 48 hours after two burglaries, just blocks away on East Eckman Street, neighbors say one woman was abducted from her home and taken for a terrifying ride that has neighbors even more on edge.

Surveillance video from a local business owner shows the GoLo gas station on Miami street where you see two people get out of a car and go inside.

“It really puts a fright into everybody. It’s palpable, people are scared they’re nervous they’re changing their habits,” said Avromi Klor a resident of the neighborhood and Principal and Chief Executive Officer of H&A properties in South Bend.

The business owner, also a resident of the neighborhood says the video shows the young woman still in her pajamas and the suspect. Neighbors say the male forced the woman in the car at gun point and drive to the gas station to take out money from the ATM.

Then you see the two leave the gas station and go separate ways as the male walks into the neighborhood early morning.

“Thank god nobody was hurt in this instance, but somebody that’s willing to enter somebody's home, knowing the homeowners are there, knowing women and children are sleeping in the home, willing to abduct someone at gun point, it’s unknown how far someone like this will go,” added Klor.

It’s unclear if any of the recent crimes are connected but neighbors say they have seen an increased presence from the police as they work to solve the crimes.