An intruder broke into one of Iona’s on-campus houses on Sept. 5. Around 1:30 a.m., juniors Claire Maurer, Jackie Garraffa and Rebecca Iannetta were going to bed when they heard their doorbell ringing and banging on the front door.

Iannetta saw a man on the front porch and they called Campus Safety and Security, after barricading themselves in an upstairs room.

The students heard more noise coming from the side of the house and called Security again, and two guards responded immediately. The students let the guards in, and one of the security guards noticed an open window.

The window had not been open when the three girls had gone to bed, and they realized there was an intruder in the house. He was spotted in the kitchen and the girls ran out of the house.

The man was questioned by security. The New Rochelle Police Department arrived shortly after that and took control of the situation, arresting the man for breaking and entering.

“The incident was recorded on the security camera located on the front porch of the house and the individual is being prosecuted,” said Michael Labella, interim director of residential life, in an email.

The intruder claimed to have been drinking at Beechmont Tavern and that he left with a girl. The intruder said the girl had told him it was her house and that they had entered through the side door.

The residents didn’t see a girl anywhere and said he probably came in through the window, as the side door does not open.

“It was weird, he didn’t try to take anything,” said Maurer, “and he didn’t seem drunk at all.”

Maurer had emailed the Office of Residential Life about the fact that the windows in the house didn’t lock properly a week prior to the incident, soon after moving in.

The windows were not actually broken, it was discovered, but they were difficult to lock due to the top half of the window being easily moved out of alignment with the locking mechanism.

Facilities Management came the next morning and explained this and screwed the upper half of the windows into the frame to keep them in place, allowing the residents to easily lock the windows. Facilities also installed alarms at the request of the residents.

“Residential Life, Security, Facilities, the Vice Provost for Student Life, Charlie Carlson, the Counseling Center all responded and provided support,” said Labella in the same email.

There are a variety of ways to make sure you stay safe on and off-campus. For any students concerned about staying safe, look to the Office of Residential Life, the Office of Off-Campus Housing, and Campus Security. All three offices are located on the second floor of the LaPenta Student Union.