Raleigh police investigate vandalism at Saint Augustine’s, 20 dorm windows broken
Raleigh police found 20 broken dorm windows at Saint Augustine’s, a $10,000 hit that lands as the bankrupt campus struggles to secure its property.
Twenty broken dorm-room windows at Saint Augustine’s University have added a fresh security and financial strain to a campus already under bankruptcy scrutiny, with Raleigh police estimating the damage at up to $10,000.
Officers were called at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 9, to reports of property damage on the Raleigh campus. When they arrived, police said they found the broken windows in a dorm building. Investigators later said nothing else was taken, and no arrests have been made.
The repair bill is modest compared with the university’s wider financial crisis, but it arrives at a moment when Saint Augustine’s is trying to prove it can protect what remains of its assets. The school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on April 27-28, saying it was reorganizing debt while trying to keep operating.
Bankruptcy records show the university estimated it owed between $50 million and $100 million to creditors, with assets estimated at $100 million to $500 million. Among the largest debts listed was a multimillion-dollar obligation to the Internal Revenue Service. WRAL has also reported that the university has faced accreditation loss, lawsuits, IRS liens and other financial problems in recent years.
The vandalism is drawing attention because it hit a dormitory, a part of campus that usually carries the most direct responsibility for student safety and housing. Separate reporting attributed to the university’s lawyer said people broke into empty dormitories over the weekend and threw furniture out of the windows, suggesting the damage went beyond shattered glass. That detail also fits the wider concern now hanging over Saint Augustine’s: whether the school can secure buildings that are vulnerable and largely empty while the bankruptcy case moves ahead.
State and court watchers have been focused on whether the university is taking the right steps to prevent unauthorized access and trespassing. In that sense, the broken windows are more than a repair estimate. They are another visible sign of instability at one of Raleigh’s historic HBCUs, a school now being judged not just on its finances but on whether it can keep its campus safe and intact.
Raleigh police said anyone with information should contact investigators or CrimeStoppers.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
