ST. LOUIS — Many Mizzou fans are still soaking up yesterday's big win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Yet, some became targets as the Tigers sealed the victory.
Driving in from Jefferson County, Kevin L. went to The Armory in Midtown on Friday night to watch the Cotton Bowl Classic. For safety, Kevin wanted to keep his last name private.
As Missouri took on Ohio State, at least one suspect broke into his car in the Goodwill Outlet parking lot, stealing Kevin's laptop, headphones and backpack; all worth about $2,000.
"Since we weren't parked in the actual Armory parking lot, they weren't going to compensate us or have that discussion," Kevin said. "The GM came down and offered to cover our bar tab the next time we wanted to come down which wasn't going to be anywhere near what I lost in my computer, and my brother's and everyone else's windows."
His car was just one of eight vehicles broken into. Another victim was his brother Phillip.
One of the broken windows from Phillip's car was still on the ground the next day. Additionally, one of his front windows was smashed and fell in on him as he was leaving the parking lot after watching the Mizzou game.
"There were actually some folks that had been broken into before in this area," Kevin said. "They were just like it happened again, let's keep it moving. Just a little discouraging but very grateful that we didn't get hurt or no one in this situation got hurt."
The Armory told 5 On Your Side they haven't had a break-in on their property since February, highlighting their fencing, professional security patrols and security cameras.
Armory sent the following statement:
At Armory STL, our guests’ safety and security is our number one priority. We have 2 fenced lots for our patrons with professional security patrols. Our large east lot, directly in front of the building, is used daily and patrolled every minute that we are open. For large events, we also offer secured, fenced parking with security patrols to the west of our building adjacent to Hazard Moving & Storage. These are dedicated lots for our guests that are secure whenever in use. Thankfully, because of our efforts, we haven’t had an accident since early last winter in our lots. We encourage our guests only to park in these areas. For more information, see our parking information on the FAQ page of our website. Thank you to the St. Louis community for all the love and support in our first full year of being open for business!
The investigation for a possible suspect is ongoing.
The Armory is encouraging customers to only park in their secure parking lots whenever possible. Especially considering it is New Years Eve tomorrow, Dec. 31.
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