A Boston family is spreading the word after a burglar reached into their home while they were sleeping and stole items through their window.
The Rudnick family said metal bars didn't stop the thief from reaching through their open window to rob them, as the homeowners looked to enjoy the nice weather outside.
"Beautiful night," Rob Rudnick said. "Exactly what you want, not a lot of humidity."
The Appleton Street home's windows were open, but Rudnick said the family thought the metal bars would ward off any burglary attempts.
"There's a reason we felt safe," Rudnick said. "The windows were open, and there's bars there, and no one can get in the bars."
However, while his family was asleep, the burglar got past the bars to complete the theft.
"Whole family was asleep," Rudnick said. "My wife woke up the next morning and was like, 'What the hell happened?'"
The family said the burglar likely would've taken anything they could've grabbed, which ended up being butcher block of steak knives, in the theft.
Rudnick said he believes the thief used a dumpster as a stepping stool in the back alley behind their home, and reached through the open window to their kitchen window sill to steal the knives.
"Really guys?" Rudnick said. "You decided to take the effort to steal our five steak knives?"
Rudnick said the family isn't fretting over the loss of the knives, but were more worried that the robbery happened to their family at all, with their 3-year-old and 5-year-old children sleeping in the home.
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Now, the family is spreading the message, especially to those without the bars.
"Just because you have bars on your windows doesn't mean someone can't put their arm in," Rudnick said. "There's no doubt we looked at it, and we're like, 'We are not leaving our windows open at night."
Boston Police say they received a report of someone trying to break into a back screen of a home on West Newton Street, less than a mile away from Rudnick's home.
However, the department said it's unclear if the crimes are connected.
In the end, Boston Police are encouraging burglary victims to report any crimes immediately, no matter the size, to help give them a sense of how it may be happening.