Fort Collins is known for its historic Old Town, great beer and Colorado State University. It is often named one of the best places to live and one of the best college towns. Fort Collins is a generally safe place with many options to help students get home safely, like Safe Walk and RamRide. 

Though crime has been decreasing steadily in the past 10 years, there was a small spike in reported crimes in Fort Collins from 2014 to 2015. 

In the wake of an incident over break that resulted in two police alerts being sent to students from the Colorado State University Police Department, here are three notable crimes that have occurred so far in 2016.

1. Swatting incident shuts down areas near campus over spring break

After about a dozen police vehicles arrived on scene and two alerts were sent to the CSU community advising that they stay away from the area, an incident in which a caller who claimed to have killed two people was revealed to be a hoax.

The incident occurred in the area of Laurel and Sherwood streets March 16. Police responded to call from a person claiming they were armed and that they had killed two people. It was determined a hoax when police discovered that the two people claimed to have been killed were alive. 

According to a Coloradoan article, this is trending prank, called “swatting,” is an incident in which someone reports a fake emergency and it draws a massive emergency response. 

Police are still investigating who made the phone call. 

2. Stabbing on Stover Street 

Around midnight Feb. 9, police arrived to a duplex at 1623 Stover St. to find that two women had been stabbed.

Sara Mondragon, 26, who was the one to call the police, was rushed to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland and remained in critical condition the rest of the week. Cathy Mondragon, 61, was pronounced dead shortly after the incident.

Tolentino Corzo-Avendano, 26, was arrested Feb. 10 after a SWAT standoff on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree homicide. He appeared in court Feb. 12 and 23. 

After arresting Corzo-Avendano, police also arrested Tomas Vigil, 41, on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree homicide.  

3. Poudre Valley Hospital nurse arrested for unlawful sexual assault

Thomas Moore, 43, was arrested by Fort Collins police Dec. 21 after two women accused him of of groping them while they were being treated by him at Poudre Valley Hospital. 

After the original accusations gained public attention, more women stepped forward with similar accusations toward Moore. March 3, police filed a third count against Moore for unlawful sexual assault.

Like the first two victims, the third said she was under Moore’s care in the hospital when he sexually touched her, according to a FCPS press release. The third incident occurred in mid-December 2013, within weeks of the other two incidents. 

Moore has worked at other hospitals in Greeley, Loveland and Thornton. He has also worked at a hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska and San Antonio, Texas. Police have filed charges against Moore in Greeley and Nebraska for crimes reported there. 

Collegian News Editor Sady Swanson can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @sadyswan.