OAKWOOD — For the third time an apparent prankster was caught on a doorbell camera at an Oakwood home, however this time they were wearing a mascot costume.
“At the end of the day, a person is dressed up in a costume and although at face value it appears to be a prank you can’t guarantee it and you never know what a person’s intention is,” said Oakwood Public Safety Chief Alan Hill.
Greg Heinz first talked to News Center 7 earlier this month, when a person showed up at his home and rang his doorbell. In the initial video, the person does a dance and runs off.
“I thought maybe my daughter knew him. He was a little older and I thought maybe she knew him from school and I showed her the video,” Heinz said, “and she’s like ‘I have no idea who that is.’”
Heinz said he knew right away that the person dancing in front of his doorbell was doing it as a prank. But he worried that if this same behavior happened to someone else, it could have a bad outcome.
Hill’s concerns come after a similar prank happened in Southern California last month that led to the death of three teens. In the California case, a man chased after a group of teens reportedly involved in ding-dong-ditching and ran them off the road causing a deadly crash.
“There are some inherent dangers when you engage in this activity,” Hill said. “You truly never know how someone is going to respond.”
Police said if you ever see any suspicious activity in your neighborhood never hesitate to call to have the police department check out the situation.
