Attempted invasion of my neighbor's house

[RJF]

This is infuriating. My neighbor's wife and young children were home when this son of a bitch tried to break in (and he knew it when he looked in the window, but he did it anyway). He tried to push through the door but gave up when she called upstairs and asked her husband (who wasn't home) to call 911.

This video is long and captures from when he started casing the place until he ran off. The attempted break-in starts around 3:35:32 and goes for a couple minutes after that.


This was taken with a Lorex 8MP camera.

 

[bigredfish]

Lots of lessons there. Glad it worked out ok...

 

[mat200]

This is infuriating. My neighbor's wife and young children were home when this son of a bitch tried to break in (and he knew it when he looked in the window, but he did it anyway). He tried to push through the door but gave up when she called upstairs and asked her husband (who wasn't home) to call 911.

This video is long and captures from when he started casing the place until he ran off. The attempted break-in starts around 3:35:32 and goes for a couple minutes after that.


This was taken with a Lorex 8MP camera.

Wow!

Thanks for sharing RJF.

Time for a quick meeting with concerned neighbors and sharing a little about what you know about security cameras.

Hopefully the neighbors across the street and others get a few good cameras so you can ID some of these attackers.

 

[Snapper30]

Good thinking by your neighbor to call for her husband. Hope they catch the SOB.

 

[Parley]

Damn, that kind of cr@p really bothers me.

 

[tangent]

Lots of lessons there. Glad it worked out ok...

Agreed.

Seems like his m.o. was to try to get someone to open the door and then force his way in. I find that more brazen and can't help wondering if they're a svp.

Can't tell what's on the wall at the grey apartment a keypad for code entry, fingerprint reader, audio intercom, or video intercom. If there's video hopefully it's being recorded. It could have gotten a better view of his face.

Some obvious lessons / things to consider

• fix the closer on the security door. the ajar security door may have been the first thing that got his attention. Could also have simply been that the lights were on.
• lock the security door
• consider sticking a super simple door chime on the security door like this. Sometimes you even see these at the dollar store. In the alarm setting they also work well on basement window well covers.
• Put up a security camera or two.
• consider a simple peephole viewer in the front door or maybe something reflective in the yard so you can see a reflection from the window if somebody's trying to hide in the doorway.
• an alarm system is pretty effective at scaring people off, even just a yard sign (big name ones on ebay).

 

[CCTVCam]

Wow. Obviously not a great neighbourhood from the barred windows, but what's surprising is he actually picks a house with barred protection!

Wondering if you managed to get a good still from the camera because I noticed at several point prior to the break in and one during, he actually pulls the scarf down exposing his face whilst facing the camera. Did they catch him?

Was the door just on a chain as it seemed to come ajar very easily but not open. If not, your neighbour really needs to consider a better door with multi-point locking. He was able to force the door way too easily. If so, then moral here is don't leave the door on a chain and it's no good having an outer security door if you don't lock it.

Another thing for the neighbour to consider is an alarm system. I have a multi-zone alarm system and whenever I'm in the house in the day, the perimeter, which includes door sensors is ARMED even though I'm in. At night, the lower ground floor is totally armed + perimeter. An alarm isn't just for when you're out. A rolling code remote helps with unlocking if you're in and out frequently.

 

[RobertM]

The lady of the house was very crafty, quick-thinking and utilized what was instantly available to her to thwart the invasion. Wow.

 

[bigredfish]

At about 5:48 it seems he easily gets the inner door open a bit. Either its unlocked with a chain or she opens it a smidge to tell him to go away...? Either way, this was seconds away from possibly turning out very badly.

1) Get a firearm and learn how to use it.
2) Call 911 at the beginning of the attempted breakin, not when its almost too late.

Oh yeah, Lock the friggen doors! This buys you time for #1 & #2 above

 

[58chev]

At about 5:48 it seems he easily gets the inner door open a bit. Either its unlocked with a chain or she opens it a smidge to tell him to go away...? Either way, this was seconds away from possibly turning out very badly.

1) Get a firearm and learn how to use it.
2) Call 911 at the beginning of the attempted breakin, not when its almost too late.

Oh yeah, Lock the friggen doors! This buys you time for #1 & #2 above

Watching that again at full screen, the perp almost gets right inside. Wonder if there was a chain or the lady was fighting him off?

 

[bigredfish]

Looked to me like she opened the door a crack to speak to him, and he backs up a couple of times, led me to believe she was swatting at him.

3) NEVER open the door for someone you dont know.

 

[RJF]

Luckily some of my neighbors have cameras (thanks to the DC surveillance camera rebate program) and we have some decent footage of his face. Now it's in MPD's hands.

In case anyone has any interest in seeing what the footage from a Dahua 8MP IPC-HDW5830R-Z looks like, here is that footage from the same time frame (but from a different angle that does not capture the attempted break-in itself).

 

[RJF]

With the narrow left and right angle you guys have, I wonder if an auto tracking PTZ would work well over there?

I'll have to think about that. I have so much foot/car traffic on my street I would be concerned that it would just be bouncing around all the time.

 

[RJF]

Wow. Obviously not a great neighbourhood from the barred windows, but what's surprising is he actually picks a house with barred protection!

Wondering if you managed to get a good still from the camera because I noticed at several point prior to the break in and one during, he actually pulls the scarf down exposing his face whilst facing the camera. Did they catch him?

Was the door just on a chain as it seemed to come ajar very easily but not open. If not, your neighbour really needs to consider a better door with multi-point locking. He was able to force the door way too easily. If so, then moral here is don't leave the door on a chain and it's no good having an outer security door if you don't lock it.

Another thing for the neighbour to consider is an alarm system. I have a multi-zone alarm system and whenever I'm in the house in the day, the perimeter, which includes door sensors is ARMED even though I'm in. At night, the lower ground floor is totally armed + perimeter. An alarm isn't just for when you're out. A rolling code remote helps with unlocking if you're in and out frequently.

Even in the nicest neighborhoods in DC you are never very far from the riffraff. This is in Capitol Hill.

 

[RJF]

Watching that again at full screen, the perp almost gets right inside. Wonder if there was a chain or the lady was fighting him off?

She fought him off.

 

[mat200]

Keep an eye out for those guys in suits. They are the worst!

Indeed! They'll rob you blind - so blind that you'll vote for them again and again ;-)

 

[RJF]

At about 5:48 it seems he easily gets the inner door open a bit. Either its unlocked with a chain or she opens it a smidge to tell him to go away...? Either way, this was seconds away from possibly turning out very badly.

1) Get a firearm and learn how to use it.
2) Call 911 at the beginning of the attempted breakin, not when its almost too late.

Oh yeah, Lock the friggen doors! This buys you time for #1 & #2 above

Seriously. We had a murder one block from this location last year where a homeless guy pushed his way into a basement apartment and stabbed a woman to death. We live amongst savages.

DC police find car of woman who was stabbed to death in Northeast

 

[handinpalm]

Pretty scary place. Better be locked and loaded, only way to protect yourself. That brazen SOB needs to be 6' under.

 

[looney2ns]

Appears that he follows the lady that left, before he returns.
There was no chain on the door, he gets it opened too far for that.
By the way, for those just tuning in, those chains are a joke to keep someone out.
Talk through the door, if you don't know them.
Lady is very lucky, if he'd been a little more determined, it'd all been over.

DC, land of the Brave, and home of the 2nd amendment that doesn't apply to us peons.

 

[bigredfish]

When we go to NE PA to visit family, we take the "longcut" up the WVa turnpike,and go out around Maryland/DC and come in the West side of the state. It adds 4 hours to the drive, but we get to stop in Pittsburgh and see some old friends.