Video captures 3 men attempting to enter home

Resident says he's installing bars on windows after frightening encounter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three men were caught on home surveillance cameras attempting to get into a house just after 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The man who lives in the home said his mother was there alone and the encounter left her shaken.

"She's frightened. She barely slept last night," said the man, who asked not to be identified out of safety concerns. "I said, 'Go to sleep. I'll stay up all night,' so she can get some rest."

Wednesday, the man told News4Jax that he's installing security bars around the windows and doors of his house, because even his security cameras didn't stop what he said could have been a potential robbery or even worse.

The man said he has no idea who the three men were that approached his home in broad daylight, about 10 minutes after he'd left the house to run errands Tuesday.

He said one man came to the front door inside the home's sun room while his mom was inside the house alone and knocked. She said when she opened the door, the man at the door asked if her son was home, or if anyone else was home. She said no and told the man to call her son's cellphone if he was looking for him.

Then she closed and locked the door.

But the surveillance footage shows that the man didn't get in his car and leave. Instead, he got two other men from the car and they all grabbed gloves and headed back into the sun room. They can be seen putting the gloves on inside the son room and then approaching the door again.

"She heard the door bell and them knocking on the door, but she didn't answer because she already told them nobody's here," the man said.

When she didn't come back to the door, the men left.

The son said he installed the security cameras to deter people from trying to do anything to his house.

News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith watched the surveillance video Wednesday.

"Now they're wearing gloves, and they're back, and they know that the son is not there," Smith said as he watched the footage. "They probably know she's there alone. This isn't good, not good at all."

Smith said the woman did the right thing by not answering the door again. He said at that point she could have called 911. But her son said she didn't know the men were attempting to open the door.

"They're checking the door, wearing gloves," Smith said. "They are intending to commit (another) crime. Like I said, they've already committed a crime of burglary by entering that part of the home. Even though it's a patio, it's still enclosed, so once you enter there without permission, that's a burglary."

Smith said sometimes people are deterred by cameras. If they are not, then cameras can help catch whoever committed the crime. Cameras can be hidden, but if a person doesn't see a camera, he/she might continue with the crime. On the other hand, if someone knows where the camera is, he/she could attempt to ruin the camera before being caught on video.

Smith said it's a good idea to put up a few fake cameras, so potential criminals think you have more surveillance than you actually have.