Apartment invasion scares students

Armed intruder enters women's residence at The Hawker

Residents of The Hawker apartment complex are feeling a little less safe after a reported home invasion in the early hours of Saturday morning.

According to Sgt. Susan Hadl, Lawrence police were called about 3 a.m. regarding the presence of a man wearing a ski mask and holding a handgun in an apartment where four female Kansas University students were present.

The women in the apartment were able to isolate themselves in one room of the apartment, away from the suspect, police said.

The suspect left the apartment shortly before police arrived. It was not clear Sunday whether the suspect took anything from the apartment.

Devin Schuster, another KU student who lives at The Hawker, 1011 Mo., had heard about the incident by Sunday morning and was concerned.

“I kind of worry because we don’t lock our doors very much,” Schuster said. “I’ve been locked out of my apartment before and climbed up to my balcony and got in that way.”

Schuster said the home invasion meant he and his roommates would be much more careful about locking their doors.

Robert Pulliam, also a KU student living at The Hawker, said he would have never believed such a violent attack could happen at those apartments.

“I still feel safe here, though. I don’t think something like this will happen again,” Pulliam said.

Pulliam, who always sleeps with a baseball bat by his bed, said the police woke him and his roommate Saturday morning, asking whether they’d seen any “suspicious activity.” Pulliam said he hasn’t noticed anything different in the past few days, but he did note that he thought the locks on the doors weren’t very sturdy.

No arrest had been made as of Saturday night. Police did not return calls Sunday seeking additional information.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall in his mid- to late 20s with either light green or blue eyes. He was wearing green pants with a black shirt.

Lawrence police ask anyone with information regarding the incident to call 843-TIPS.