Multiple cars broken into at Westlake apartment complex

Car break-ins have been happening more frequently at a West Austin apartment complex and residents are asking for security measures to be taken.

AUSTIN, Texas - Residents at a West Austin apartment complex in the Nalle Woods area say about a dozen cars were broken into.

Multiple cars could be seen with shattered glass, some parked in a garage, others in the parking lot.

"They smashed the window, they opened the center console, kind of rifled through it, left stuff all over the seat," Hannah Claussenius-Kalman said.

"I got up this morning and apparently somebody either with a bat or a rock or something broke the window," Nicole Hayes said. "They opened the console on the inside, they flipped it open, they rummaged around. I had some resumes with my name and my info, they stole those."

"They broke the window, they shattered it, glass everywhere. They took the documents in there, registration, insurance cards," Francesca Proietti said. "I feel violated, shocking honestly, it's a new car, I'm a bit angry about it. Now I'm worried about my privacy as well."

The residents we spoke to are filing police reports. Austin Police say they do have a report at this address and more could be filtering in. There is no suspect information at this time.

Residents say they've heard of break-ins happening before in the area.

"You hear around Westlake a lot, cars broken in, it's just a problem in Austin that's going on," Proietti said.

Despite the apartment complex being gated, they say someone could've followed another person in.

"It's frustrating, like it would just be nice if there were extra security measures, so this isn't going to be a recurring thing because it kind of uproots everything," Claussenius-Kalman said.

"I hope that there's first of all cameras at the front, I think that would help a lot, maybe some cameras back here and just throughout the complex temporarily, some extra security or something just to make sure this gets under control, because apparently it's been going on, it's not the first time," Hayes said.

FOX 7 checked with the apartment complex. They say they can't discuss this with anyone but the residents.

In the meantime, Proietti says she may be spending more money for more security.

"It's a lesson for me, you know, we pay for a parking spot downstairs, it wasn't enough, we need to have two garages for the two cars," she said. "Something has to be done, maybe more surveillance cameras, I'm taking things in my own hands now, and I'm going to buy a camera and put it right in front of the garage, try to see if it will scare people away from doing this."