Thieves target DC apartment residents displaced by water main break

Some residents of the Carver Terrace Apartments in Northeast D.C. have received a double whammy.

A couple of weeks ago, dozens of people were forced out of their homes and into hotels because of a water main break.

While the families are staying miles away at a hotel in Cheverly waiting to go back home, thieves saw an opportunity to break in and take off with whatever they could find.

Residents of the 2000 block of Maryland Avenue say they have been out of their apartments for three weeks due to the water main break in their building. The water also caused the electricity to fail.

One resident said after three weeks, they have been told: "Pretty much they are going to look into it. That's all. They can't tell us any information."

Meanwhile, the apartment company is providing hotel rooms for the 27 families affected by the outages. But while they were away, thieves broke in. Doors were kicked in while electronics and other personal belongings were stolen.

Maintenance put padlocks on the doors in hopes of securing what is left.

One resident we talked with, who did not want to be identified, said it is not enough.

"We paid our rent," she said. "We don't want to be out. We didn't do anything to be put out, so why are we being treated like this? And the best [they] can do is put padlocks on the door that anyone can take off. It will happen again. We need more."

FOX 5 reached out to Carver Terrace management for some answers and we are waiting to hear back.

We also contacted Mayor Muriel Bowser's office and Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. They are both aware of the situation and say they are working with Carver Terrace management to get those people back into their apartments.

The mayor's office says they are sending a representative back out there on Tuesday.

The ANC commissioner for that area, Kathy Anderson, says she is meeting with property managers for buildings in that area in a few weeks and will be insisting Carver Terrace management is at the table.