After repeated home break-in attempts, a homeowner is seeking police action, worried about escalating violence.
SAN ANTONIO — Hope, who has filed at least three police reports in recent weeks, said she is afraid for her family’s safety, after a person she doesn’t know has tried to kick his way into her home during the nighttime hours.
The latest attack came Saturday night, and like previous assaults, the frightening encounter was all caught on camera by her unblinking front door monitor.
She compares the unknown man to the cartoon character Cornholio, from the animated television series “Beavis and Butt-Head.”
Hope said, “He came again disguised as Cornholio. That’s when my husband was laughing, he said, ‘yeah, you know, he had this shirt over his head, and the way he ran too with his arms, he looked like Cornholio.'”
While the comparison to Cornholio may be lighthearted, the incident is anything but funny, Hope said.
“It’s terrifying. I don’t know what they’re planning, but that’s ugly, like that’s scary!” Hope said.
The latest video shows what appears to be a thin-framed black male wearing a white t-shirt over his head rushing the door of the home on the southeast side, near Kate Schenck Avenue and Alsbrook Drive. He was wearing light-colored sweatpants with a short stripe down the side and dark athletic style shoes.
In each case, the dusty imprint of his shoe is clearly visible on the door, which held firm and didn’t collapse.
The man appears to be holding a cell phone and the camera recorded audio.
Hope said, “I caught him saying “Kick that sh** hard!”
After the hard kick, the man can be seen running into the darkness without breaching the door.
Hope said she posted video of the incidents on social media hoping that some of her neighbors may have recorded the man in the area.
“I tried reaching out to the neighbors through the NextDoor app saying, ‘Hey, is anybody else experiencing this?’ Or maybe they have like a video or something they could share to help find out who this person is so they can stop.”
Concerned that the attacker might be a teen, Hope said she fears for his life. Hope said, “Police asked us to please not shoot them, that they will look for them. We told the officer we will shoot if we need to!”
Hope said an arrest would bring some peace of mind.
“I just want them caught. What if one day they do kick the door open, or what if I’m walking out as they do that and they kick me? It’s just so much that can happen!” Hope said, adding she also fears for the person causing the trouble.
“What if they kick the wrong person’s house and then they end up on the news being, you know, shot and hurt?” Hope said. “What can happen if he continues doing this?”
Reacting to social media comments made by neighbors tired of violence hitting so close to home, Hope said, “It would be heartbreaking if this happened to a different person, different person’s house, and they took like different matters, you know, what if they shot that kid?”
After reporting three incidents, Hope said her next step is to try and get action from her neighborhood SAFFE Officer. The SAPD program encourages officers to develop relationships with the people in the area they serve.
Hope said help has to come soon. “They’re damaging our property, they’re terrorizing our family, and that is disturbing, that’s very disturbing!”