{
  "id": "2024-06-12-loyola-university-chicago-motor-vehicle-theft-spree",
  "slug": "loyola-university-chicago-motor-vehicle-theft-spree-2024-06-12",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Loyola University Chicago",
    "shortName": "LUC",
    "state": "IL",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Loyola Alert",
    "enrollment": 17000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-06-12",
    "endDate": "2024-07-18",
    "type": "motor-vehicle-theft",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Motor vehicle theft, June 12, 2024",
    "summary": "Campus Safety issued back-to-back [Timely Warning crime alerts](https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-june122024/) after two vehicles, both left running and unattended, were stolen from the same block of North Sheridan Road near Loyola's Lake Shore Campus, one in the early morning hours of June 12, 2024 and the [second in the early morning hours of July 18, 2024](https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-july182024/). Both alerts referenced the nationwide social-media-driven trend of thieves exploiting a security flaw in certain Kia and Hyundai models that allows the vehicles to be started without a key.",
    "outcome": "No injuries were reported in either theft. Campus Safety continued working with the Chicago Police Department on both investigations; no arrests were reported in either case in available coverage.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    },
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 12:15 AM CDT on June 12, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Dear Loyola Community,\n\nCampus Safety is writing to notify you of a report of a motor vehicle theft that occurred overnight.\n\nAt approximately 12:15 a.m. there was a motor vehicle theft on the 6400 block of N Sheridan Road. A person unaffiliated with the University left their vehicle running while unattended and returned to find it missing. No one was injured as a result of the theft.\n\nCampus Safety will continue working with the Chicago Police Department as they investigate this case. If anyone has information on the incident, please call Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE or the Chicago Police Department at 911 or 312-744-8263. The Chicago Police Department also continues to investigate leads related to other recent violent incidents in the district, and any new updates will be posted to the 24th District Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) and CLEARMAP websites. Please also keep the following risk-reduction tips in mind:\n\nSafety Tips\n\nIf a person threatens you, follow any demands and run away as soon as it is safe to do so. Once in a safe place, immediately notify Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE or the Chicago Police Department at 911.\n\nNever leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in the vehicle.\n\nCertain Kia and Hyundai models have a known security flaw that allows a vehicle to be started without a key. Owners of these vehicles should consult the manufacturer to determine if their vehicle is at an increased risk of theft.\n\nInvestigative follow-up will be dependent on the amount of detail a person can recall. It is important to remember as many identifying characteristics about the offender(s) as possible. This can include the license plate of any involved vehicle, physical characteristics of the person, their clothing, any weapons used, direction of flight, etc.\n\nIf you see something you believe to be suspicious, immediately contact Campus Safety or the Chicago Police Department.\n\nCampus Safety recognizes that survivors are not at fault for any crime. Students who are seeking resources related to acts of violence can contact the Wellness Center at 773-508-2530 or visit the Community Coalition on Gender-Based Violence website. Faculty and staff in need of resources are encouraged to utilize the University’s Employee Assistance Program.\n\nThe safety and well-being of the Loyola community is always of paramount importance and a top priority.\n\nSincerely,\n\nThomas K. Murray\nDirector of Campus Safety\nChief of Police\n\nThis message is being sent out in compliance with the Timely Warning requirement of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-june122024/",
      "sourceDescription": "LUC Campus Safety Crime Alert — June 12, 2024 motor vehicle theft",
      "annotations": [
        "Full official LUC Campus Safety crime-alert email recovered from https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-june122024/ (2646 chars).",
        "The victim was explicitly described as 'not affiliated with the University,' underscoring that Clery timely warnings cover the public geography around a campus, not just enrolled students or employees",
        "The alert names the specific Kia/Hyundai ignition vulnerability driving a nationwide wave of similar campus thefts documented elsewhere in this archive"
      ],
      "characterCount": 2646
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Approximately 5:00 AM CDT on July 18, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Dear Loyola Community,\n\nCampus Safety is writing to notify you of a report of a motor vehicle theft that occurred this morning.\n\nAt approximately 5:00 a.m. there was a motor vehicle theft on the 6400 block of N Sheridan Road. A person left their vehicle running while unattended and returned to find it missing. No one was injured as a result of the theft.\n\nCampus Safety will continue working with the Chicago Police Department as they investigate this case. If anyone has information on the incident, please call Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE or the Chicago Police Department at 911 or 312-744-8263. The Chicago Police Department also continues to investigate leads related to other recent violent incidents in the district, and any new updates will be posted to the 24th District Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) and CLEARMAP websites. Please also keep the following risk-reduction tips in mind:\n\nSafety Tips\n\nIf a person threatens you, follow any demands and run away as soon as it is safe to do so. Once in a safe place, immediately notify Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE or the Chicago Police Department at 911.\n\nNever leave your vehicle unattended with the keys in the vehicle.\n\nCertain Kia and Hyundai models have a known security flaw that allows a vehicle to be started without a key. Owners of these vehicles should consult the manufacturer to determine if their vehicle is at an increased risk of theft.\n\nInvestigative follow-up will be dependent on the amount of detail a person can recall. It is important to remember as many identifying characteristics about the offender(s) as possible. This can include the license plate of any involved vehicle, physical characteristics of the person, their clothing, any weapons used, direction of flight, etc.\n\nIf you see something you believe to be suspicious, immediately contact Campus Safety or the Chicago Police Department.\n\nCampus Safety recognizes that survivors are not at fault for any crime. Students who are seeking resources related to acts of violence can contact the Wellness Center at 773-508-2530 or visit the Community Coalition on Gender-Based Violence website. Faculty and staff in need of resources are encouraged to utilize the University’s Employee Assistance Program.\n\nThe safety and well-being of the Loyola community is always of paramount importance and a top priority.\n\nSincerely,\n\nThomas K. Murray\nDirector of Campus Safety\nChief of Police\n\nThis message is being sent out in compliance with the Timely Warning requirement of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-july182024/",
      "sourceDescription": "LUC Campus Safety Crime Alert — July 18, 2024 motor vehicle theft",
      "annotations": [
        "Full official LUC Campus Safety crime-alert email recovered from https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-july182024/ (2615 chars).",
        "The second theft occurred on the identical block of N. Sheridan Road as the June 12 incident, roughly five weeks later, suggesting either a recurring opportunistic pattern in the same stretch of street or coincidental unrelated thefts",
        "The July alert shifts from a generic 'never leave keys inside' warning to a more specific recommendation that Kia/Hyundai owners consult their manufacturer, suggesting Campus Safety refined its guidance between the two alerts"
      ],
      "characterCount": 2615
    }
  ],
  "context": "Loyola University Chicago's Lake Shore Campus sits along North Sheridan Road in the Rogers Park neighborhood, a dense residential corridor where campus and off-campus parking overlap closely. In the summer of 2024, Campus Safety issued [two nearly identical Timely Warning alerts](https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-june122024/) after vehicles parked and left running unattended in the [6400 block of N. Sheridan Road](https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-july182024/) were stolen, once on June 12 and again on July 18. Both alerts referenced the well-documented, [TikTok-amplified 'Kia Boys' trend](https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-drop-in-auto-thefts-new-concern-numbers-certain-vehicles/) exploiting a manufacturing flaw that lets certain Kia and Hyundai models be started without a key, a pattern that drove similar Timely Warnings at university police departments nationwide, including neighboring public safety notices from the University at Buffalo and Arizona State University in the same year. Neither Loyola alert reported an arrest or a recovered vehicle.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Two Timely Warnings for the same crime type, on the same city block, five weeks apart illustrate how a single vulnerable stretch of street can generate repeat Clery notifications rather than one isolated incident",
    "Both thefts involved vehicles left running and unattended, a detail Campus Safety emphasized to distinguish opportunistic theft from forced entry",
    "The alerts explicitly named a manufacturer-specific security flaw (the Kia/Hyundai keyless-start vulnerability) as the underlying cause, a level of technical specificity uncommon in most Clery vehicle-theft warnings",
    "Both victims were identified only as unaffiliated with the University, showing Clery timely-warning geography extends to public streets bordering a campus regardless of the victim's institutional status"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Crime Alert - June 12, 2024 (Loyola University Chicago Campus Safety)",
      "url": "https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-june122024/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Crime Alert - July 18, 2024 (Loyola University Chicago Campus Safety)",
      "url": "https://www.luc.edu/safety/alerts/2024/crimealert-july182024/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Chicago sees a drop in auto thefts, but a new concern drives numbers up for certain vehicles (CBS Chicago)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-drop-in-auto-thefts-new-concern-numbers-certain-vehicles/",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "motor-vehicle-theft",
    "kia-hyundai",
    "timely-warning",
    "chicago",
    "rogers-park",
    "repeat-location",
    "no-arrest",
    "2024"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}