MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Residents of Marne Street in East Memphis said they’re on edge after two scary incidents in one day on the street, and some only learned of the second one from WREG.
Police have two open cases from Tuesday: one house burglarized and an attempted break-in at a second house that involved gunfire.
Natalie Wade assumed burglars got in to her home by kicking in the door at some point before she came back in town Tuesday.
“They’d gone through all my drawers, left my closet light on,” Wade said. “They’d rummaged through all my jewelry. That’s mainly what they took—all my family heirlooms.”
She said a house down the street from her got a description of the car and had cameras, so she hoped to hear back soon about suspects. Investigators likely hope those same cameras will help them with the other case.
Kathy Atkinson heard about the attempted break-in at her neighbor’s house where gunshots went flying. It happened around 2 a.m. the same day Wade discovered her break-in.
“That really does worry me,” Atkinson said. “I understand he opened the door, and the man was right there and shots were fired.”
The victim in that case told WREG his dogs were barking, so he thought they needed to go outside. But as soon as he opened the back door, someone attacked him, shooting in his direction. He ran to get a handgun and fired back four times, he said.
“I guess it was two guys trying to break in, but I guess they got caught in the act,” neighbor Nick Paige said.
What’s scariest for neighbors is that the victim has three large dogs plus a tall fence in the backyard.
“Most people who are out for mayhem will go somewhere that doesn’t have a dog, so that’s surprising,” Paige said. “I want cameras and a ring doorbell. I think that would help, but I don’t know what else to do.”
Wade said she was already planning to move; this just makes her decision a lot easier.
Police said they have not figured out if these two incidents are connected.
The victim who shot at the intruders said he thinks they were targeting his house, and they knew he had expensive equipment inside and he had just been out of town.