News

Some South End residents on edge after attempted break-in at garden-level home

BOSTON — Neighbors living in garden-level apartments in Boston's South End are on guard after a bold break-in attempt. The intruder busted through a locked gate in a back alley but wasn't able to make it inside the building.

Now, neighbors believe they have good reason to be concerned about their safety, telling Boston 25 News that the intruder was clearly determined enough to burst through a wooden gate. They say there's no telling what he would've done had he made it inside the apartment on the garden level.

The close call resonating with several neighbors who describe recent similar experiences with suspicious characters creeping on their patios.

A locked wooden gate in the alley adjacent to Upton Street in Boston's South End was only an obstacle for the intruder who busted through it.

Related: Early morning 2-alarm fire damages renovated Wellesley home

The tenants inside the garden-level unit believe his intent was to break in, but they say he couldn't get through their back door.

"We live on the ground level; knowing someone is able to break in through the windows [is] concerning for our safety," said Mary Durgin, a South End resident.

Neighbors living in nearby garden-level units are on guard after the break-in attempt occurred around 8 o'clock at night on Thursday.

"If something happens outside of your home, you have to wonder what’s next," said Nancy Waywood.

Waywood says lurking, trespassing and stealing from people's back patios has been a recurring pattern. Surveillance video captured a man behind her condo back in June. She told Boston 25 News that he used a knife to cut locks, stealing two bicycles while she was sleeping.

"It was about five feet from where I was sleeping," she said. "You don't [know] who's out there watching. You don't know who could potentially harm you or your family."

>>>MORE: Firefighters knock out 2-alarm blaze at Cambridge duplex

Waywood says her surveillance footage was key in police catching the suspect less than an hour later.

But even with the swift capture and an alarm system installed in her condo, she remains uneasy. She's even decided to put her place on the market.

"It's beautiful, but I don't feel safe here anymore," she said.

The neighbor who lives in the unit where Thursday's break-in attempt happened has filed a police report. She's hoping that maybe one of her neighbors’ cameras captured something that could help find the suspect who got away.