(no subject)

[rivka]

I had just finished reading Alex a bedtime story. I crossed over to the study and sat down to write an e-mail, when I heard Michael say sharply: "Rebecca, I need you down here."

His tone made me stop typing in mid-word. I ran down the steps. He met me at the bottom. "The police are here; someone has reported a burglary in progress at our address. Colin is on the changing table." Then he disappeared.

I found Colin (abandoned halfway through a dirty diaper change) and got him cleaned up and dressed. The seldom-used front door was standing wide open, and a police officer stood in our garden shining his flashlight carefully over every inch of the front of the house. I heard a helicopter overhead. I got the officer's permission to close and lock the door and the tall iron gate that protects it.

The side door - the one we actually use; here's a picture of the layout if you're confused - was standing open. I found Michael at the back of the house, by the open kitchen door. He was leaning out the door talking to the police officers searching our back yard. He asked me, firmly, to take Colin upstairs to the study. As we were on our way up, the cops pronounced the yard clear and left.

Michael's story: He heard a couple of odd noises that sounded like something might have been knocked over by the wind. He checked the back door (which he found we had accidentally left unlocked) and then, after another strange sound, went to look out the front window. There was a scruffy man who looked homeless standing outside our gate, which was ajar. When the guy saw Michael looking at him, he left. Michael and Colin sat back down to watch the baseball game, until (a) Colin needed to be changed, and (b) Michael noticed several officers with flashlights in the garden, and one of them came up to knock on the door.

It appears that the sound Michael heard was someone trying to get in through the solid metal gate that shuts off the back of the house. The garbage can normally stands in front of that gate, and it had been moved out into the passage. We think the guy tried the gate, found it locked, and decided not to try to get over it. Michael saw him on his way out.

He may or may not have tried the metal gate that covers the front door. It was slightly bowed out when the cops checked it - there's a little bit of play where the two halves come together, even when it's locked. The wind could have moved it, or.

Here's what bothers me most: the lights were on in the living room and study. Michael had the TV on, too. He was moving around on the first floor. And the guy still tried to come in. It frightens me that he wasn't deterred by the house being occupied. I'm afraid he may have had a home invasion in mind rather than a burglary.

Very grateful that we have bars or heavy metal mesh on all the downstairs windows.

Comments

[guruwench.livejournal.com]

OMG! I'm very glad you all are okay. How frightening!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

That's not good. I'm glad you're all OK, and I hope he's been dissuaded.

[selki.livejournal.com]

Ack! I'm glad about your bars and mesh, too.

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[kiya]

Meeeeeeep.

[journeywoman.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. I'm glad you guys are all okay.

[lydy.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I'm glad you guys are ok. I'm also glad about your bars and mesh.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Frightening! Glad for the bars and mesh, and also for your observant neighbours.

[lerryn.livejournal.com]

That sounds frightening. Glad everyone is ok.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The story doesn't make sense. If he intended home invasion, why did he leave when he knew Michael saw him? And home invasion tends not to be a solo pursuit, anyway. Maybe he was just an incompetent criminal.

Anyway, glad everything turned out okay. Good luck regaining calm.

B

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

I don't think home invasion was on the menu. I think he probably tried the front door, found it locked, realized I was in the front half of the house, scooted around to go through the big gate into our back yard and possibly get access to other homes from the rear, and when he couldn't easily get through that gate, he decided there had to be easier pickings somewhere else.

I think I just happened to see him as he was taking one last look, and seeing me at the window was what convinced him to get moving.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

That makes a lot more sense. Still, scarily close.

B

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yes, now that I don't have seventeen gallons of adrenaline pumping through my system I agree that this is the most plausible explanation.

It is still scary.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

As you probably know, one of the most important things that can be stolen is your sense of safety. Take care to get it back.

B

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm feeling pretty good about how it played out.

Our gates and bars did what they were supposed to do: they made our house enough of a pain in the ass to break into that he decided someone else's house would be a better bet. Our neighbors were alert, and quick to call the cops. The cops showed up fast and checked things out thoroughly.

We did have a conversation last night about whether we should reconsider buying a gun (we decided the answer was no), but in general I feel like our security is in good shape.

[ewein2412]

we used to live a couple doors down from some of our town's major drug dealers and a couple of times we had people running through our house--they'd come in when all the lights were on, race through and grab someone's handbag and race out again--the fact that someone was obviously home maybe is what attracts a guy who wants money FAST. Maybe the doors will be open, maybe things won't be put away yet, maybe the tv will cover the noise, plus it'll be easier to find what you're looking for because the lights are on. I don't think it's indicative of malevolence, more of immediate need. Also, I think it's unlikely you're being targeted. Thank goodness for watchful neighbors!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

That makes a lot of sense. And yeah, the response from both the neighbors and the police was alert and reassuring.

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I do just have this image of an intruder getting a used diaper full in the face. I'm sure Colin would be proud to have contributed to the defence of the family.

[ailbhe]

Gosh, how terrifying. I'm glad you have strong barriers.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

The good bit is how fast the police came. They'd have come that fast if you'd actually needed them. Your neighbours were paying attention and the police listened. There will always be burglars, the issue is what happens about them. Neighbours calling the police and the police showing up right away is one of the things that makes a neighbourhood safe. If he hadn't left, they'd have caught him.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

ack! i am glad you are all all right.

[telerib.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness gracious.

Excuse me, Universe? Please stop giving rivka and curiousangel troubles for a while, okay?

[kate_nepveu]

Yikes. Hooray neighbors and police and safety precautions on your house.

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

Sounds like your erstwhile intruder was not quite in his right mind. Not sure if that makes it better, or worse!

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. I'm glad you're all okay!