Good reasons to break lease?

[cat13339]

Need some advice here. My son is renting a apartment with 3 other college friends. When I went to look at it I thought it was in a less than desirable neighborhood, but thought he would be ok. He called me Saturday and said that they had been robbed, AGAIN. he didnt tell me about the first time because he didnt want to scare me. He and his friends moved in at the middle of august and have so far paid up through the end of September. The thieves came in his broken bedroom window that they had told the landlord to fix, and who had "promised" that he would. He found out that the apartment has been robbed numerous times from the police department. The cops at the crime scene told my son and his friends to move, it is not safe there. They also pointed out the housing violations and wondered why there wasnt any smoke detectors by the bedrooms. They really do not feel safe anymore and have lost about $500 each due to the robberies. The landlord has offered them 1 months free rent but they do not want to stay and are looking for a more secure apartemnt. They have told the landlord they are planning on moving, in fact they have just about moved everything of value out. My son just called and told me that the landlord is threatening to sue them for the rent because they signed a lease. They have documented and taken pictures of everything and are going to the Police Dept. to get documentation. My question is, do they have good cause to break this shysters lease? I think he took adavantage of them because they are young, and they have spent lots of money on utility deposits etc. Thanks for may info/feedback...