Woman walks into veterans home in Boston and leaves with stolen paintings, police say

Residents at the home believe the theft was planned because the woman appeared to know exactly what she was looking for.

The doors at Patriot Homes are always locked. Residents still don't know how she was able to get inside.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the woman lived in the building. She walked upstairs, then minutes later came down with three paintings tucked under her arms.

But she doesn’t live at the residence. The veterans who do say she just walked out with their artwork.

"She came here and she stole from us," resident Mark McKunes told WFXT.

McKunes lives at Patriot Homes in South Boston. The non-profit offers subsidized housing to veterans. No one there recognized the woman, and no one thinks the act was an honest mistake.

"This was definitely an act of just selfishness," McKunes said.

McKunes said just watching the video makes him angry.

"She's not trying to hide her face or duck down or anything like that," McKunes said. "She just knew what she was doing, knew what she was stealing."

"We're very angry because we feel—me personally, I feel violated," said Chris Dooley, a Navy veteran.

"They looked very beautiful when they were down here," McKunes said of the paintings.

McKunes said the walls inside his building will stay empty until the woman is caught or the paintings are returned.

"We're a tight-knit community. We all know each other," McKunes told WFXT. "We all kind of served together, different branches, different wars but we came from the same place, and she violated our space."

Boston police are investigating as detectives are reviewing the video. Officials said there is no suspect information.