Incident occurred outside our home last night, and I need some input from the combined wisdom here at TFL:
Background:
We live in a quiet Surburban neighborhood, I know most of the families on the block, very few teenagers. About 1/2 mile away - shopping center (grocery, video some restaurants), which recently has become a haven for teenagers, and some petty crime.
Last night I was walking the dog at around 10:45 pm, had a funny "gut" feeling that someone bad was going to happen. So when we got home I secured the house, loaded the shotgun and put it beside me. I also opened up all the exterior lighting so that anyone coming in would be siloutted against the light vs a dark interior of the house.
About midnight - heard my dog barking, then some fireworks. Went back to sleep. This morning my fiancee comes back in (right after she was leaving for work) to tell me that someone set off some fireworks on her car's hood. Burned the hood up pretty bad. It was a roman candle type piece that sets off sparks.
Called the police, they came by and took down a report. I emailed the officer some digital pics of the hood. He said the probability of them catching the kids who did it are pretty slim. (Assuming it was some punk kids trying to have fun)
I am thinking of buying some motion activated lights. Might be able to swing some nightvision gear so I can catch the punks in the act, call and police and give up descriptions.
Any suggestions on how to prevent / discourage this in the future?
Background:
We live in a quiet Surburban neighborhood, I know most of the families on the block, very few teenagers. About 1/2 mile away - shopping center (grocery, video some restaurants), which recently has become a haven for teenagers, and some petty crime.
Last night I was walking the dog at around 10:45 pm, had a funny "gut" feeling that someone bad was going to happen. So when we got home I secured the house, loaded the shotgun and put it beside me. I also opened up all the exterior lighting so that anyone coming in would be siloutted against the light vs a dark interior of the house.
About midnight - heard my dog barking, then some fireworks. Went back to sleep. This morning my fiancee comes back in (right after she was leaving for work) to tell me that someone set off some fireworks on her car's hood. Burned the hood up pretty bad. It was a roman candle type piece that sets off sparks.
Called the police, they came by and took down a report. I emailed the officer some digital pics of the hood. He said the probability of them catching the kids who did it are pretty slim. (Assuming it was some punk kids trying to have fun)
I am thinking of buying some motion activated lights. Might be able to swing some nightvision gear so I can catch the punks in the act, call and police and give up descriptions.
Any suggestions on how to prevent / discourage this in the future?