Surviving a Break-In

On the morning of December 10, 2009, at approximately 11:45 a.m., a man knocked on my front door. I thought it was a salesman, so I did not answer. I looked out and saw a man walking away, he didn't look like a salesman, he was wearing baggy clothes and had messy hair.

About 30 minutes later, I was in my room when I noticed my bedroom door start to open; it stopped. I heard whispering; I got to my door and saw two men running down the stairs and then jump out of a window.

My heart raced; I ran down stairs and closed the open window and locked it. I then ran back upstairs and called 911. I told the dispatcher my home was broken into. While I described what the assailants were wearing, I secured all of the unlocked windows downstairs.

Then I heard a knock at the front door, it was a third suspect. I peeked through the curtains and described to the dispatcher what he was wearing and the car that was left running in front of the house.

Officers flooded the area, and quickly spotted the car at a nearby intersection.

After investigation the three were arrested and charged with burglary and other charges.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics says around 40 percent of annual household burglaries in the United States are not forced entries, meaning someone was able to walk, climb or crawl inside of houses almost as easily as if the owners left a key in the door.

Lock your doors and windows. Two burglars got into my house through an unlocked window. All of my backyard windows were unlocked at the time.

Secure gates. Just because you have a gate, doesn't mean you're completely secure. Lock everything.

Leave a light on. Discourage break-ins by making it look like you're home if you are out.

Lastly, be vigilant about what is going on in your neighborhood. You can prevent this from happening.