MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Instead of relaxing and opening presents, the Ciardo family spent Christmas Day cleaning up broken glass from their bedroom window.
They were victims of a burglary.
"A selfish act that somebody decided to do to us, for no reason at all,” said Mercedes. “It was gone. Everything that we worked so hard to get was gone."
The break-in happened just after 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Milwaukee police. The Ciardos were visiting Mercedes’ father-in-law at a nursing home at the time.
Watch: Milwaukee family out thousands of dollars after Christmas Day robbery
They came home to find two missing TVs, a Nintendo Switch, tablets, and headphones, along with $2,000 of rent money.
Doors, walls, and a window were damaged in the process.
“It’s like having a real-life Grinch,” Mercedes scoffed. "A Grinch came and stole our Christmas."
"We don't feel safe living here now,” her husband Kevin remarked. "This is the last thing we need."
They have young children — three under three.
Their eldest son’s ATV was also taken in the burglary. Even a box of diapers was missing.
"It's one thing to steal from an adult but another to steal from a child,” Mercedes noted.
"This is scary. You can't trust anyone,” added Kevin. “So it's just the neighborhood. This neighborhood is terrible."
The family has notified the police who are currently searching for suspects.
When I asked the family why they reached out to TMJ4, Mercedes responded, “Honestly, we felt like nothing was going to get done and we weren't going to get any justice unless we did."
"We need to find out who did this to these people on Christmas…who the real Grinch is this year, and stop them from doing this to other families around us because no one deserves to go through that."
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