Neighborhoods are supposed to offer a sense of security and community, but the comfort of home can be suddenly stripped away when an entire subdivision is targeted and attacked, robbed, left questioning if their security has always been so fragile. This exact scenario occurred the night of Dec. 9, and left families feeling scared and on guard, during the Christmas season when we are supposed to feel joy and warmth for our fellow man. Several families from the school were all victims to this event. Most of the break-ins were due to cars, doors, and garages being left open or unlocked.
The Laymans were only one of the many victims. The two criminals got into their garage and stole several guns, hunting clothes, and other hunting supplies, as well as 5 12-packs of Dr. Pepper. The Layman family was made aware of the theft when they noticed that the refrigerator door had been left open and their hunting bag was in the wrong place.
“I was in shock, I didn’t know what to do,” said senior Evan Layman. “I determined if they came back, they would be sorry.”
Since this incident occurred, Kelly Layman, Emilie and Evan’s mom, has placed gift wrapping paper over the windows of the house in a festive, yet effective way to prevent others from seeing inside.
Sophomore Khloe Tucker and junior Madison Mick live in the same neighborhood, and both of their families were robbed. The Micks had a wallet and a drill stolen out of their Jeep, and the contents of the wallet were strewn about the roads of the neighborhood before the wallet was thrown in the ditch.
“It’s scary to think that someone could be watching you and waiting for you to leave your house or car unlocked.” said Mick. Her family has since made sure that they keep their cars locked and the garage closed, especially at night.
“It scared my little brother more than the rest of us. He had to sleep in my sister’s room because his window was right next to the car that had been robbed. He was really freaked out,” said Mick.
Tucker’s mom had her purse stolen out of her car, as well as a pair of Beats and several other things out of the garage, like drinks, which appears to be a favorite of the thieving pair.
“It’s kinda scary. We were all sleeping when they broke in. But it’s nothing that we can’t replace,
at least they didn’t come inside.” said Tucker.
Since this incident has occurred, Tucker and Mick’s neighborhood has been pushing to install a security gate to prevent further break-ins from happening again.
The same week of the robbery, Dec. 11, the culprits were identified and arrested. All items that were stolen, aside from cash, were returned to their rightful owners.
After learning that the men responsible had been arrested, Evan Layman had a few choice words for them.
“They literally gained nothing from this,” said Layman. And to the criminals he said “You didn’t really win here did you?”