The St. Paul Police Department has begun a criminal investigation into a break-in at Olin-Rice’s chemistry stockroom on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also participating in the inquiry. The FBI is serving as a resource and liaison because “of the potential of the chemicals where the break-in occurred” Sgt. Tracie McHarg of the St. Paul Police Department said.

According to Terry Gorman, head of Macalester security, little information is available to the public. Authorities do not want to compromise the progress of the criminal investigation. Faculty and staff in the Chemistry department have also declined to speak about the matter.

The events of Sept. 11 are also influencing the mood. “Things are different than they were six months ago, everything is different and with all these different issues everything belongs to a different category now and there are different agencies involved,” Gorman said.

A Macalester security guard came across the burglary while on a regular patrol of the building. The intruders pushed him out of the way and escaped. While there was not a big struggle, the officer was unable to catch up with the intruders.

Gorman is withholding the identity of the security guard because while he doesn’t “have a gag order on him, it’s not his place to make comments about what’s going on because it is an ongoing investigation.”

It is not clear what the intruders wanted. While McHarg does not believe anything is missing, an inventory of the room is currently underway. According to Federico Helfgott ’03, who worked in the storage room for one semester, the chemicals are locked in a cabinet. Card access is necessary to enter the room.

Before the Chemistry Department was told not to talk about the incident, some professors did talk about the break-in to students. According to these students, the three burglars entered through a vent in the storage room.