Can I Break My Lease if I Feel Unsafe

[Bethesda]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Washington

I moved into my apartment last December and signed a year lease. The apartment complex isn't in a horrible neighborhood, but we have had some problems since we moved in. On our first night here someone got stabbed and lately our neighbors have been throwing parties every weekend and being extremely loud. This usually isn't a problem as I just call the police and let them handle it. But last night they threw another party and another neighbor called 911. The party was broken up, but about an hour later my boyfriend heard some yelling and looked out our bedroom window. One of the people from the party had a huge shotgun and was clearly drunk and waving it around and pointing it at people he was with. I immediately called the police and am just praying that they caught the guy. I am 8 months pregnant and do not want to bring my child into this kind of environment. Is this grounds to break my lease without repercussion?

[LawResearcherMissy]

Nope. It's not your landlord's fault that someone was stabbed, and it's not his/her responsibility to ensure that all of the neighbors meet your criteria to "bring a baby into this environment". You signed a binding legal agreement, and unless the landlord does something that renders your unit uninhabitable, you're bound to the agreement until it ends.

You're going to find that EVERY neighborhood is going to get some bad apples from time to time. Even the quietest, sleepiest neighborhood will have problems on occasion. When there's a problem, call the police.