Stolen master keys leave Cal students' apartments vulnerable
ALBANY (KPIX) -- Hundreds of UC Berkeley students are worried about their safety after the university announced someone stole the master keys to 974 apartment units at University Village in Albany.
Someone stole the box containing master keys for the entire village -- the second time it has happened in two years.
"Three thousand five hundred residents. Like that's a lot of people to have their safety and their homes put at risk a second time," said Cal graduate student Nathan Gong.
Gong, his wife and two young children live at University Village.
After UC Berkeley made the announcement Friday, Gong immediately hired a locksmith to replace his lock.
"I'm concerned about my little ones," he said.
The university said it may take weeks to change all the locks since there are 974 apartments spread out over 58 acres.
"If someone were to enter your home while you were in there, there's a potential for violence," said graduate student Zana Sanders. "It's just alarming."
"I cannot really fall asleep at night because someone may break in," said undergraduate student Alice, who declined to provide her last name.
She said she has kept a pepper spray and taser nearby the past two nights. She was waiting for the university to change her lock. In the meantime, she's about to install surveillance cameras at her front and back doors.
"For someone to steal the master keys, you can only anticipate they plan on using them," Sanders said .
University police are investigating how someone stole the master keys.
"Mistakes happen, that's understandable. The same exact mistake twice within such a short period after complete assurances tells me that was empty -- that they don't have a plan in place," Gong said.
"I feel like I don't trust the university anymore," Alice said.
The university apologized for the stress. They're giving free door chains and doorstops to residents. University police also stepped up patrols in the village.
"This is not a scenario that I've seen before. We've probably changed close to 20 locks this weekend," said locksmith Jack Hosh with 24/7 Locksmith Solutions.
This comes just as final exams begin on Monday.
"This is the last thing that you'd want to think about when you're trying to study for a big final or something," Gong said.
There have been no reports of any home burglaries connected to the keys theft so far.
The last time someone stole the master keys to the village happened in August of 2020.
