JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Murray Hill neighborhood has had more than 20 burglaries in the past 60 days, and now, residents say they want something done about the ongoing break-ins.
The latest total of reported burglaries are according to an official city website that tracks crime in Duval County. Residents who live on Attleboro and surrounding streets said their main concern is Ruth N. Upson Elementary, which is located near many of the homes that were robbed.
With children going to and from school during the day, Leah Batista, a mother in the neighborhood, said she is begging for the community to step up and help catch these crooks.
"You have people just running around and breaking in and you're scared because not everybody around here has an alarm system," said Batista.
Most of the burglaries reportedly occur during the day, when the suspects assume people are at work.
"We've had a string of robberies over the last week to two weeks, but almost every Christmas, we have a massive string of robberies," said Batista. "(One) house here got broken into the Christmas before that."
Batista said she is worried about her safety, but she is most concerned that her daughter is starting to ask questions.
"The police are out here everyday, and you have to answer that to your kids like 'Why are the police here?'" said Batista. "You have four cop cars over here. You have two over here."
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A house on the street was most recently broken into sometime Wednesday when the people who live there were out of town. Batista and her neighbors said it's even harder to catch the thieves because it seems there are many, such as men and women who ride through the neighborhood in cars, SUVs and bikes.
One man said his house has been broken into twice. He said he is about to put his house on the market because he said he doesn't feel safe in this neighborhood anymore.
Neighbors are asking for the community to step up and contact JSO at 630-0500 if anyone has information on who may be committing these crimes.