Internal parts were stolen from six computers in Coover Hall sometime between May 5 and May 8, according to Iowa State’s Department of Public Safety.

Clinton Martin, 328 Town Engineering, reported the gutted computers, which were located in Rooms 327, 328 and 350 of Coover Hall to DPS on May 8.

“I came into work at 8 a.m. Monday morning and saw that my office mate’s computer had its case off,” Martin said.

“I thought that he might have been working on it, but then I saw that my computer’s case was off, too. Six out of eight of our computers had been gutted.”

Martin said the incident affected the Department of Electrical Engineering because it happened in the Adaptive Computing Laboratory.

Jerry Stewart, associate director of DPS, said there were no signs of forced entry, and after an inventory, it was discovered that several keys to the rooms were missing, some of which were taken before the incident.

The estimated damage to the computers is about $7,000.

At this time, there are no suspects in this case, but the person or people responsible can be charged with burglary or entering an occupied structure with intent, a Class D Felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine, Stewart said.

Stewart said a similar incident occurred last summer. Prior to that, it had been four years since a comparable case was reported.

Department officials are still checking to see if it would be better to repair or replace the computers, Martin said.

“Replacement will probably be the most economical alternative,” he said.