LOS ANGELES—A resident of Tarzana thwarted a burglary attempt at a neighbor’s home using his extensive security camera system, scaring off the suspects with bright lights and a paintball gun, authorities reported on July 31.
Police responded to the 5400 block of Aura Avenue, just south of the Ventura (101) Freeway, around 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The suspects, described as three to four males wearing masks, fled in a four-door sedan.
Reports indicated that the homeowners were present when the suspects trespassed on their property.
Julian Harper-Smith, a resident across the street, revealed that he had installed over thirty cameras in the vicinity, monitoring the footage from a trailer. He witnessed the suspects scaling a wall onto his neighbor’s property and used bright lights and a paintball gun to deter them.
Surveillance footage captured the suspects hastily retreating to their car as Harper-Smith fired paintball rounds at them.
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“There’s a lot of theft happening around here, it’s quite common,” Smith stated in an interview broadcast on ABC7. “By keeping your windows and doors locked, you can prevent most break-ins. In the past, they used to break windows only if they saw something tempting.”
This incident on Tuesday night comes after a spate of recent home burglaries in neighboring areas such as Woodland Hills and Encino.
