Teenagers causing trouble...

I know the general consensus around here is "my kids would never do something like that" but just as with the pumpkins, somebody's kids are bored and causing trouble.

We've has a series of ding and dashes at our home for the past few weeks. You know the drill, someone rings your doorbell then runs and hides in the bushes for a good laugh when you answer the door to nobody. Well maybe once or twice is funny, but we've been getting it daily, always at night, and today's incident was not just a ding and dash, but a 12 ringer and a half a minutes worth of hard kicks in the door. This time I called the police, as it's getting a bit out of hand and it becoming harassing. This might be a backlash to my husband who twarted the trio in their black hoodies as they were about to ding last night, he opened the door to leave at the same time they were approaching the driveway, they quickly ran into the woods.

I hope some teens parent's give them a talk about the possible consequences for their pranks. I know of more than one cardcarrying NRA member in Broadlands, and these kids just might tresspass and prank the wrong house of someone who is scared and armed. And that would not be funny.

 

I agree that your situation does call for alarm, but please remember that there are strict laws in VA for the use of deadly force with a weapon. Just because someone is on your property (or for that matter in your home), does not give you the right to shoot them.

Maybe a well place video camera and keeping the outside lights on would be a good first step. Video evidence is a good weapon to fight crime. If you catch them on tape, maybe someone can identify them, and hence you (or the police) can confront the parents.

It sounds to me that you are being targeted for some reason if the kids keep coming back. If it is happening to several neighbors, band together. When it happens at one house, call all the neighbors and have them on the lookout. Catch them in the act (on video prefereably, or at least a picture to ID them), then call the police. Keep a visual on them until the police arrive. If they were on your property, you could always press charges for trespassing. It the damaged your door, you have them for vandalism.

 

"remember that there are strict laws in VA for the use of deadly force with a weapon. Just because someone is on your property (or for that matter in your home), does not give you the right to shoot them"

of course there are strict laws, and i'm not suggesting anybody has the right to shoot them. what i AM saying is, kids will be kids, and it's up to their parents to protect them and help them make it to adulthood. provide them with information for those who act without thinking ahead.

if you think you can repeatedly kick someone's door like you are trying to kick it down, and that is somehow "funny," you'd only have to try that on so many houses before someone *would* answer with a gun. you just don't who those people and they don't know what your intentions are. i don't think a lot of kids consider (or have the ability to consider) the consequences for their actions, and it can be taken too far.

 

The key word is deadly. Rock salt meet shotgun.

 

I completely agree with you. You are correct that if someone was kicking a door, that would be perceived as a threat (and rightfully so).

Undoubtedly, these kids will come across a homeonwer with a firearm if they continue to play these games. Such games can get out of hand and sometimes accidents happen. Such things should never occur, but unfortunately do. The kids obviously do not think of such things and could end up getting hurt.

The kids parents need to know of this unacceptable behavior and put an end to it !!!

 

Well we just got our mailbox destroyed Friday night. Looks like kids hit it with something like a baseball bat. No sign of a vehicle hitting it.

I guess God is punishing me for all the things I did as a kid.

Including blowing up the city of houstons Mayors mailbox with several cherry bombs. That was my last time destroying a mailbox and my other stupid mistake was he only lived a few houses down. Of course I got caught and had to mow his lawn for free for the whole summer. Darn I should of done it in the winter. ha ha ha.

Lee j

 

Check out this link. It just goes to show you never know what some crazy person that you make angry will do.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/03/teen.shot.ap/index.html

 

Not only that how many people are in Law enforcement that live around here??? Pick one of their homes and the intruder may be in for a nasty surprise. Hard to tell a teenager prankster from an adult in the dark and what they could be up to.

Lee j

 

Remembering back to the days before caller ID...when crank calls were a fun and safe way to pass the time, the folks we used to crank call again, and again, and again, were those that gave the greatest reaction back. The folks who just hung up were no fun. It was the guy who would curse us out and yell and carry on who always got the call back.

Not to say you are, but if you are yelling or chasing, it is sure to only be increasing their fun.

-Jim

 

FWIW, they have gotten no reaction from me...yet. I have not answered the door, not once. I look out the peephole to see who is there, and if it's nobody, or somebody I don't know, I don't answer. It's happened so frequently and at the same time (just before dinner, i suspect), that i don't even bother to check anymore.

I have had to stop my preschoolers from running to answer the door, and had the conversation about not everybody is a good person and we don't answer the door to strangers, much sooner than I would have wanted or would have needed to.

 

as a side note, my husband suspects these might be the same teens that like to start fires in the common area near our house. The first time we let it go, the next time my husband had to help them stomp one out as it was getting out of control, and the next time we called the fire marshall. we're the meanies who called the fire dept. because we don't want to see people/property get hurt/damaged. boo hoo, i'm sure their concerned parents took away their XBox for an entire evening over that!

 

Do you know who these kids are?

 

As has been said many times a video camera would do wonders to catch them. Especially if you make a picture from it of the kids and post it in the community center and at the shopping centers. We us them all the time now in construction and once the word is out theft is gone down to almost zero.

Lee j

 

Lee - Friday must have been a busy night with a baseball bat as our neighbor's car had their rear, front and side windows smashed out with a baseball bat. How do we know it was a bat? The cops were able to catch the teens and a confession and the bat. Needless to say, it may have been the same teens taking a bat to your mailbox - did you report it to the cops?

 

"Do you know who these kids are?"

Nope.

 

sds - can you give a general description of where this common area is that you are talking about? Also, can you give us an idea where you live? I am trying to be helpful but wanted to see if I could get a better idea of where to look out for these kids/activity.

Thanks - a concerned citizen

 

Thanks for the information. Nope I did not report it to the cops as I have a Sheriff who lives across from me. And nope they did not destroy his mailbox, just a lot of other ones on my street ha ha I live in the Regency so I wonder if it is the same kids???? I am just quessing they used a bat because it looked like from the damage it was a bat or some kind of blunt object.

Thanks for the info

Lee J

 

I was wondering why there's always a sheriff's car in front of your house! I was worried you were under surveillance!!

 

Cliff maybe they are. Although my life is an open book so good luck finding anything ha ha ha ha

Lee j

 

I have neighbors who get dinged, but both the folks on my block have said it happens after midnight! Multiple times, too.

I called some kids in to non-emergency one night last spring (still in school year); the puppy was small and still needing middle of the night outings, and I saw a group of kids running between houses and into back yards at 1:30 a.m. Found out later from the folks two doors down that their bell had been rung three times between 12:30 and when I made the call.

What on earth are these kids (the ones I saw here didn't look old enough to drive yet) doing running around in the middle of the night?