Car thefts on UA campus prompts UAPD to alert students

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Thieves are taking advantage of the predictable schedule of university students. In less than three weeks, seven cars have been stolen on campus and UA Police have alerted students. The main car brands stolen are Kia and Hyundai, from all over campus during the day.

“I do park in a garage. I actually chose to park over here though so I could get to class quicker, so if it’s over here, that will not be happening again,” said UA sophomore and Kia owner Alexis Onan as she sat in her 2015 Kia near 4th St. and Euclid Ave.

UA Police alerted students that seven cars had been stolen from August 23rd to September 11th. Four of them were Kia and two of them were Hyundai, from garages, lots and streets on campus. The locations were as far north as near Mabel and south as close to Sixth Street. They occurred during the day with a window broken for entry.

“Well this is news to me, so that worries me a lot,” Onan said as she wondered what more she could do to protect her car.

“I’m super secure with like all my things so I make sure it’s locked up but if people are still breaking in that’s really concerning,” she said.

“It’s good if you have like one kid and it’s good on transportation Jorge Flores said about the 2014 Hyundai he was driving. He said that he stays on top of security for the car.

“Just go visit the Hyundai dealership and tell them you want the anti-theft software update,” he said. But he also adds his own layer of protection.

“I’m military background so I hope nobody tries to steal my car,” he said with a chuckle. “It would be a bad day for them.”

But students still have to go to class, and UAPD said to park in secure areas with good visibility. Alexis Onan will try to keep her car where she thinks it’s safest. She didn’t have any concerns about her car up to this point.

“No, now I do though,” she laughed.

A class action suit against the two automakers because of a lack of anti-theft protection ended in a settlement just last May for models made from 2011 to last year.

If you have any information on the thefts, call UAPD at 520-621-8273 or 520-88-CRIME if you wish to remain anonymous.

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