Department of Public Works facility near Squirrel Hill tunnel broken into again, equipment stolen

PITTSBURGH — Target 11 has learned that someone broke into the Department of Public Works Schenley Division which is located near the entrance to the Squirrel Hill Tunnel right along the Parkway East. This is the second time in two years that this facility has been targeted.

After the last break-in, the city promised to increase security.

This latest incident happened late Friday night. Police tell Target 11 that the lock to the main gate was cut as were the locks on two storage facilities that house power equipment used to maintain Schenley Park.

A DPW employee reporting to work Saturday afternoon found the locks cut, and the gate open.

Police say the thieves got away with chain saws, weed trimmers, leaf blowers and other lawn equipment that was housed in one of the sheds. A city spokesperson say they still don’t have an itemized list of everything that was taken.

When thieves broke into the facility two years ago, they got away with more than ten thousand dollars worth of power equipment. After the burglary in the summer of 2019, the city said they would install security cameras and post a worker overnight to deter thieves.

It’s unclear if those security measures are still in place.

The city told Target 11 they are now working to further increase security at that facility.

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