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TCU off-campus housing prowler arrested
Fort Worth police say they have arrested a man they believe was spotted in multiple Ring camera videos checking door handles and stealing items. 25-year-old Alex Alvarez faces multiple charges and more charges and arrests could be coming soon.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas Christian University announced the arrest of a suspected prowler at off-campus housing.
Fort Worth police arrested 25-year-old Alex Alvarez and charged him with attempted burglary of a residence, burglary for stealing sneakers from the yard of a home and unlawfully carrying a gun.
New Ring camera video obtained by FOX 4, recorded on Feb. 7 just before 5 a.m. the man police say is Alvarez speaks while checking the door at a home on Merida Avenue.
"Hello, I need help yo," he says.
He returned home 10 minutes later and is seen picking up something and walking off with it.
"Just using the ring footage we have to try and solve the situation, that is inevitably what solved the situation," said TCU junior Christopher Cook.
Cook, a finance major at TCU, lives at the home with several roommates.
Cook shared video of a man approaching their door at 3:45 in the morning on January 3.
It was another video clip from a neighbor's ring camera that FOX 4 aired earlier this week that elevated concerns.
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TCU issues warning after possible prowlers seen on video
TCU is warning students and others who live nearby at off-campus housing to be alert for prowlers. They’re hoping to identify the two and urge the campus community to "remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity to TCU Police."
"Theres been a bunch of occurrences, but yeah, the 7th was one, but the one that kind of scared everybody was the one across the street when he was trying to break into the house armed," said Cook.
"While taking him into custody he had a gun. That's why you see the second charge for unlawful carrying of a firearm," said Tracy Carter, with Fort Worth Police.
The police say Alvarez has a criminal history and legally cannot carry a gun.
Alex Alvarez
They have not determined if the weapon he had when arrested is the same object seen in the video.
"That Ring camera, I mean, without that it may have been slower in the process," said Carter. "We’re still preliminary. We brought him in, he’s been arrested. They’re looking to see if possibly he’s involved in other crimes in that area."
TCU’s police department previously said they were working to assist Fort Worth Police, the lead agency investigating several similar incidents over the past two months in an off-campus housing area near Sandage Avenue and West Berry Street.
"It’s a college neighborhood and these people think they can come in and take advantage and think we’re stupid, and we’re going to leave the doors unlocked and that’s just not the case. We’re all smart kids and that’s inevitably what got this guy caught," said Cook.
The Fort Worth Police Department thanked the TCU Police Department for their efforts in assisting with the arrest.