Apartment tenants armed after robberies

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Apartment dwellers in one Fort Wayne complex have armed themselves both mentally and physically in the wake of a recent rash of robberies.

Thieves or would-be robbers targeted apartment complexes twelve different times in the course of eight days.

Routines have seemed to change for many living in Canterbury Green, residents in which became victims in three of the aforementioned crimes.

“I’m scared but I’m more disappointed in whoever is doing it,” said Kelli Little who has lived at Canterbury Green for a year.  “We have to be able to protect our families and we can’t do that if it’s scary for us to walk outside of our house.”

Little and her fiancé keep guns in the apartment that they’re “not afraid to use them if absolutely necessary,” she said.

For many, personal protection has come mainly in the form of awareness.

Canterbury Green resident, Julie Lowry has felt more cautious recently than she ever remembers.

“I feel like I’ve always been cautious but now, especially, you’re more alert than you’ve ever been,” Lowry said.

Fort Wayne police have committed to extra patrols through complexes targeted most in the recent string of crime including Canterbury Green. That complex has its own security making rounds in addition to law enforcement.

On Wednesday, police received a report of a suspicious person on Canterbury Green’s property.  Five officers responded but after investigating found out the person was a resident. 

One of the responders told NewsChannel 15 that the response is evidence of how seriously the department will take each call related to suspicious activity.  He encouraged more of those living in apartments to reach out if anything feels unnatural.