by Katie Vasquez
A bold break in happened at St. John’s University earlier this week.
The Queens campus has security cameras and patrols all over but that didn’t deter these thieves.
The NYPD says around 6 pm, August 20th, two men walked into the office of men’s basketball coach, Rick Pitino.
Once inside they stole around $375 worth of goods, including a ceremonial dagger as well as a bullhorn which can be seen in the surveillance video.
Rick Pitino joined St John’s in 2023 but he has a storied coaching career in leading teams like the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville to NCAA championships.
The St. John’s University athletics dept confirmed in a statement they shared that video with police and are assisting in the investigation.
Students on campus say they are surprised by the break-in- and plan to be more careful.
“I definitely would keep more of an eye on my belongings, just you know making sure my valuables are on me or you know they are locked away somewhere. but then again like i said, there’s a lot of good people on this campus so in that sense, i don’t feel really threatened or you know worried as much,” said John Castro, a graduate student at St. John’s University.
“I thought it was kind of, I was sad to hear from the school, I’m new here and it’s a little scary to hear that,” said Matea Kovacevic, a freshman student at St. John’s University.
“Obviously it’s not a good thing to happen in the school, it was, like, kind of scary to hear about. being a student here, first year and all that,” said St. John’s University freshman student, Isaiah Garcia.
According to an email sent to students, St. John’s says the perpetrators also came back on August 21st and removed property from another office. Police are still looking for the two men.