Olivia Rubin ’17 was about to leave for school when she noticed her car door was left wide open. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the center console was open, and the contents were strewn over the seats and floor. That was when it became clear to Rubin that she had become a victim of a car burglary.

Nine vehicles have since been stolen in Westport over the past two months, and in every case, the car had been left unlocked and the keys left inside, according to the Westport Police Department (W.P.D.).

Similar to the other victims of car robberies, Rubin had many personal items stolen during the burglary.

“My wallet was stolen out of my car. It had my license, credit cards, health insurance, around $200 in cash and other random personal belongings in it,” Rubin said. “The police found my wallet and all of its contents on the sidewalk a few roads down. The people who broke into my car took my cash and then decided to dump the rest.”

Rubin, who lives near Compo Beach, was not the only person that night to fall victim.

“A bunch of other cars on my street were broken into,” Rubin said. “In the middle of the night, someone went around the beach and stole things out of cars that were left open.”

Before the robbery, Rubin said she often left her keys inside her unlocked car.

“I didn’t think much of it. I live in Westport. What could possibly happen?” Rubin said.

However, now Rubin tries to never leave her car open and always takes her keys.

“I am terrified now, and I never want to feel that disgusting, violated feeling I felt when I realized that someone had been inside my car,” Rubin said.

Max Lonergan ’18, Max Sussman ’18 and Lucy Mather ’18 also had their cars burglarized.

Lonergan, who had a flag and nearly $50 stolen, said he usually locks his car each night, but he “had forgotten the one night” he was robbed.

“Now I lock my car every night and bring my keys inside,” Lonergan said.

Despite becoming a victim of a car robbery, Mather, who had an iPod, AUX cord, keys and a wallet stolen, believes Westport is still safe.

“We [the Mather family] always thought that Westport is a super safe town,” Mather said. “While I think the town is safe—much safer than others around us perhaps—incidents like these are more common and they are hard to prevent from happening in a town like this.”

But Sussman, who only had cash stolen, believes this sense of security in Westport only attributes to the recent burglaries, including his own.

“You get this feeling of safety in a town like Westport where you don’t think that something like this would happen to you; but when it does, it is extremely unsettling and infuriating,” Sussman said.

WPD advises residents to lock cars and bring keys inside. They also advise removing valuables from the car, including cash, purses, wallets and electronics.

“It is also good practice to keep outside lights on and motion lights activated,” WPD stated on their website.