WASHINGTON - There's a new warning for D.C. residents living near Dupont Circle, as authorities report a group of bandits have been climbing through rooftops to rob a number of homes.

D.C. resident Kim Atkinson says she didn't know there was a hatch on her roof until last Wednesday when someone pried it open and climbed down into her Dupont Circle condo.

"That was part of why we're so scared when we couldn't figure out how he got in because we are at the top floor and nobody ever comes up here," Atkinson explained.

"It doesn't really feel like our space anymore somebody been through and going through all of our stuff," she added.

Stolen from Atkinson's home were three laptop computers and jewelry worth about $11,000.

"I had a watch sitting right here and then I opened this door and then I lost it," Atkinson said.

Atkinson says she is especially devastated because the diamond ring her mother wore every day until her death five years ago and the diamond tennis bracelet her mom gave to her as a gift were gone.

"It's less the monetary value -- it's the fact that i can't ever replace that," she said.

In December, there were 13 rooftop burglaries in the same area. In January that number dropped to two cases, but in February it started to pick up again. There are now three confirmed cases and three unconfirmed cases which are still under police investigation.

"We got calls from at least four or five other people that had been hit the same day," said Atkinson.

Atkinson and her partner posted flyers around their neighborhood warning residents to secure their hatches. There's a lock now on the stairs leading down from the attic in Atkinson's home and a new laptop is now tethered to their coffee table under lock and key.

"We are all trying to support one another and make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else," Atkinson said.

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