{
  "id": "2019-08-29-mit-motor-vehicle-theft-2",
  "slug": "mit-motor-vehicle-theft-2-2019-08-29",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Massachusetts Institute of Technology",
    "shortName": "MIT",
    "state": "MA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "MIT Police Timely Warnings",
    "enrollment": 12000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2019-08-29",
    "type": "theft",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "under-investigation",
    "headline": "Motor vehicle theft reported near MIT campus",
    "headlinePublic": "Motor vehicle theft reported near MIT campus",
    "summary": "MIT Police [issued a crime alert / timely warning](https://police.mit.edu/crime-alert/motor-vehicle-theft-2) on or about 2019-08-29. Full text is preserved from the official MIT Police Crime Alerts archive.",
    "outcome": "MIT Police investigation status as stated in the official crime alert.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Published on MIT Police crime-alert archive around 2019-08-29",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "On August 27, 2019, sometime between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM, five individuals were observed riding on three motorized scooters travelling Eastbound on Vassar Street. Two of the individuals then pulled over and stole a white Chicago motor scooter, which had been parked on the sidewalk. The five individuals were last seen travelling on four scooters in the direction of Main Street and Galileo Way.\n\nDuring an initial investigation, the MIT Police were able to obtain descriptions of 2 of the 5 suspects. The first suspect was a black male wearing a silver helmet, gray sweatshirt, and blue jeans, and the second suspect was a black male wearing a black \"UMAINE\" hoodie style sweatshirt, blue jeans and a backpack.\n\nSuggestions\n\n\tWhile victims of crime are never to blame for criminal activity, there are some precautions that can be taken. In order to protect yourself and your belongings from theft and/or facilitate the recovery of your stolen property, MIT Police encourage you to follow these tips:\n\n\tSee Something - Say Something: Immediately notify the MIT Police at 617-253-1212 or 100 from any campus phone if you believe a crime is occurring, has occurred, or is about to occur.\n\n\tThieves look for targets of opportunity. Always remove your keys, roll up your windows, and lock your vehicle.\n\n\tNever leave your motor vehicle unattended while it's running.\n\n\tSecure valuables out of sight.\n\n\tPark in well-lit areas with plenty of pedestrian traffic.\n\n\tReport all suspicious persons, vehicles, and activities to the MIT Police immediately.\n\nIssued by\n\nCaptain Andrew Turco",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://police.mit.edu/crime-alert/motor-vehicle-theft-2",
      "sourceDescription": "MIT Police Crime Alerts & Timely Warnings",
      "annotations": [
        "Transcribed from official police.mit.edu crime-alert page structured fields (Incident, Suspect, Summary, Suggestions, Issued by).",
        "Page recovered live from MIT Police Crime Alerts archive."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1577,
      "confidence": "high"
    }
  ],
  "context": "MIT Police publishes Clery timely warnings and crime alerts at police.mit.edu/crime-alert with full incident narrative, safety guidance, and issuer attribution. This entry is from residual archive recovery for Motor Vehicle Theft.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Official MIT Police crime-alert page preserves complete timely-warning narrative text."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "type": "official-archive",
      "title": "Motor Vehicle Theft | MIT Police",
      "url": "https://police.mit.edu/crime-alert/motor-vehicle-theft-2",
      "accessDate": "2026-07-25"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "mit",
    "massachusetts-institute-of-technology",
    "timely-warning",
    "theft",
    "crime-alert"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-25",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-25",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}