KNIFE-WIELDER AT THE DOOR

Someone with a knife tried to break into my part of the house around 3 PM this afternoon WHILE I WAS HERE. I was reviewing a project due tomorrow, sitting at the computer and heard something at the door. The sound seemed familiar, like a flyer being attached to the door handle with a rubber band. Since I'm upstairs, I went to my window to see who was going down the stairs. A package delivery? No vehicle. Must be an ad.

Nope, I was across the room from the door, at the window, when I heard someone trying the door handle, some urgent scraping or clawing noises and then someone trying to get the easy door-handle lock open. My stomach dropped as I saw the knob on the lock twist. I raced over, twisted it back and held it as I called the police, but the person kept trying to effect an opening. I had the deadbolt and the clasp locked and after about five minutes of me fighting to keep the lower lock actually locked, perhaps realizing that I was on the phone because the 911 operator had asked me to speak up, he got away before the police got here.

I'd thought he couldn't hear me because the outside noise of the freeway on the other side of the trees and local street is very loud. Even with double pane windows, it's always noisy in here. I'm sure that he didn't hear me whispering, but when I was fighting the lock and "speak up, please, ma'am" is the 911 operator's command, well, a break in traffic tells him that I'm on the phone with the police. Escape is what he did.

Police said it was obvious that I was home, that someone could not have missed the Christmas lights on in the afternoon and could see the telly on from the porch. The first question was whether I have any enemies in the area! Uh, no. They're far away, if any, in the Middle East. I made a joke about not having to worry about ISIS here.

The police could not get evidence from the pieces of the door that had been hacked off with a knife trying to get at the lock. I took some photos of the carving and pieces of gouged out wood to send to my landlord, but they cannot show my fear at knowing there was a person with a knife outside trying to get in. 

Also, this is not the first time that someone has tried to break in here. The last time was in the summer one afternoon while I was out of the house. I came home to find that the lower lock had been tampered with, was sharp where it had been bent out of its place, the door unlocked and a big piece of tape over the lower lock spot IN THE DOOR FRAME. I didn't find anything missing but there's nothing here of interest to normal thieves (or even those in high places.)

Obviously the perp was a very good frightener since the attempt to get in here was hardly that of a professional. Three locks did not seem enough, not even in the middle of the afternoon.

Think this is baloney? Have a look.