PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Since May, more than a dozen apartment houses have been targeted in Shadyside – all within an eight-block square area.

All of the thefts have happened during daylight hours when most of the residents are at work or school.

“Shadyside – there’s a lot of people work[ing] there, a lot of college students, so the burglars find that a nice place to target because they know that the residents or the students won’t be home,” Pittsburgh Police Sgt. Kevin Gasiorowski said.

In this case, police suspect one burglar described by a witness as a tall black man — thin and standing about six-feet-two-inches tall.

And they believe he’s getting help from unsuspecting apartment dwellers.

Police say the burglar is randomly pressing apartment buzzers and tenants are unwittingly letting him inside. They’re strongly advising that people in Shadyside not do this.

“We want people to realize that if somebody is ringing that buzzer, they should know who they’re letting into their apartment,” Gasiorowski said.

Once inside the building, the burglar is prying his way into empty apartments, taking mostly small electronics like iPads, laptops in addition to jewelry and cash.

These items are easy to sell on the street and don’t leave much of a trail for police to follow.

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