Stockton mother speaks out after suspects armed with BB guns ring her doorbell
STOCKTON - A mother was scared for her family after two suspects rang her doorbell with what looked like a semi-automatic gun, and it was all caught on camera.
Police confirmed the suspects in the video were teenagers and that the guns were fake.
It happened in the Tam O Shanter neighborhood around Tuesday morning, where those teenagers were going around with what looked like semi-automatic rifles.
Police said the guns were fake, but if they knocked on the wrong house, this could've been a lot worse.
Video obtained by CBS13 shows a person walk up with what looks like a semi-automatic rifle in hand, ring the doorbell, then run and hide.
If you look closely, you can see two people, hiding behind the garage, with those guns in hand waiting for someone to open the door.
"Another person was pointing a gun this way," said the homeowner, who did not want to be identified. "In that moment, we thought it was real."
The homeowner spoke only to CBS13 about what went through her mind when she saw what was happening on her front porch.
"Yes we were scared because it was my kids who were woken up when they knocked on the doors," she said.
Stockton police said they searched the neighborhood and found two boys, a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old who were armed with BB guns.
"They were taken back to their parents and lectured and released which is a form of an arrest," said Stockton Police Officer Omer Edhah.
The teens' BB guns were destroyed and confiscated by police.
"It turned out the best way it could have," officer Edhah said. "[We] determined that these were fake firearms, but if it turns out they hadn't been we would be having a totally different conversation."
Now, the homeowner asks that parents keep a closer eye on their kids.
"I ask where are the parents of those kids because I have a teenager too," she said. "It puts me truthfully, uneasy for the parents who have kids around late at night doing this."
Police said having a well-lit porch and always calling 911 if anything like this happens is the best thing you can do if you're ever in this situation.
If it's someone you don't know ringing your doorbell, or feel uneasy about, don't open the door.