BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — At first glance, it seemed like an accident but a handful of shattered windows and broken doors later and business owners and employees are noticing a trend. Buffalo University Height's neighborhood near University at Buffalo's South just experienced two more break-ins at Sato Ramen (see it caught-on-camera above) and Wholly Crepe early Tuesday morning.
“It’s kind of uncomfortable because in a way it feels like I’m being watched sometimes," says Kenyia King, clerk at Wholly Crepe. “We’ve changed the locks, we’ve gotten. New cash box, we’ve switched out how we place everything when we’re closing which is more secure when we close everything down now.”
Wholly Crepe has been broken into for the second time since December, through both the front and back windows. And according to King, the streetlight cameras used to identify the suspect didn't make out a clear enough picture to reveal an identity.
President of the University Heights Collaborative, Mickey Vertino, says it's their first priority to bring more business into the district rather than drive business out.
“First things first, if we don’t make this a safe environment then who’s going to want to be here," says Vertino. “We believe it’s one or two individuals, the majority of this community is safe. We work together and that’s what we want to show our business people, we’re here we got your back.”
7 Eyewitness News was told by Buffalo Police that detectives are "aggressively" working the case, no arrests have been made but it appears to be the same person in each instance. They have also committed to increasing patrols in the neighborhood.
