ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WDCW) — Virginia police say an incident in which it appeared that a group of people wearing Halloween masks terrorized a family during a burglary attempt was, in fact, a prank.
Chief Tarrick McGuire of the Alexandria Police Department provided the update at a news conference Monday morning, more than a week after the incident made headlines across the country.
At the news conference, the chief said emergency dispatchers received a call on Oct. 14 reporting a “suspicious event.” Soon after, it was updated to a “burglary in progress.”
The terrifying encounter was caught on the family’s Ring doorbell camera. The video shows the masked suspects pounding on the front door and making menacing gestures before trying to break in.
McGuire said his department made a “significant” break in their investigation after a previous, initial news conference to address the incident.
“We received multiple tips that created valuable leads,” McGuire said.
The chief said investigators found out that the three people seen in doorbell camera footage trying to burglarize the home were related to the victims.
McGuire said one of the relatives confessed that she, her two sons and a nephew were involved. Police found that two other adults and a child were in the immediate area, watching and standing by to record what happened, in what the chief said was a “prank.”
McGuire stressed that the victims did not know the incident was a prank. Because the family chose not to press charges, the names of the people involved will not be released.
“While this incident may not result in a criminal prosecution, for me, my team, and this community, it represents a moral failure, a moral failure where consequences could result in deadly consequences,” McGuire said, noting that similar behavior across the country has ended with people “being seriously injured or losing their lives.”
The chief took the opportunity to tell people that police would be visible on the streets of Alexandria for Halloween and that APD would be providing guidance with the goal of keeping people safe. He also mentioned the importance of parents setting examples for their children.
“What’s very disheartening about this situation is you had adults that were engaging in and encouraging this behavior. Again, there is a moral responsibility to guide your children and in this case, they failed,” he said.
“These are not pranks to be taken lightly. This was a very serious incident.”
