Frustration is growing for residents of one Northwest D.C. apartment complex after a series of car break-ins.
At around 4 a.m. Sunday, police say someone smashed the windows of at least two cars and damaged a motorcycle inside the garage of The Berkshire Apartments on Massachusetts Avenue.
One woman tells News4 she had more than $4000 worth of personal items stolen from her car.
It wasn't just the driver-side windshield that was shattered. Resident Gabriela Frederick says her sense of security was too. She and her husband were set to go to church this morning when they realized their car had been broken into.
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“I was in tears,” Frederick said. “I’m not a crier, but I was in shock. I just felt so violated.”
Frederick says most of the stolen personal items were expensive gear and tools that her husband was planning on taking to an upcoming trip.
Frederick says her biggest frustration is that the garage door has been broken for the past two weeks and claims residents have been urging management to fix it.
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When News4 was there Sunday afternoon, the garage door was open the whole time.
“We pay nearly $200 a month for the garage to have an extra layer of security – and it’s not,” Frederick said.
News4 reached out to Gables Residential – the property management company for The Berkshire – to ask about the break-ins, and have yet to hear back as of Sunday night.
News4 did obtain an email that was sent to residents Sunday afternoon that reads in-part, “We want to inform you about a recent incident involving vehicle break-ins within our community’s parking areas. We are currently working with local law enforcement to address the situation… We understand this situation is concerning, and we will continue to keep you updated as we receive more information.”
“What if I was coming to the car?” Frederick said. “There’s so many things that could have happened – it could have been so much worse.”
Frederick says she's thankful no one was hurt, but now she's unsure if she feels comfortable continuing to live there.
“It’s really unfortunate that this has become a norm,” she said. “This cannot be a norm. This is not okay.”
The victims in this case say they're still figuring out how much it'll cost to repair everything. At this point, police are still searching for whoever is responsible.
