Home security problems do not always show up as a kicked-in front door or missing valuables. Sometimes the first visible sign is smaller: a hole in a garage door, damage to siding, a cut window screen, or a mark on a neighboring house.
Two separate Prince William County, Virginia, police reports from June 15 put that kind of exterior damage in focus.
One report involved shots fired near a Dumfries home. The other involved an attempted residential burglary in Woodbridge.
Potomac Local News included both incidents in a regional police blotter, and the underlying Prince William County Police Department report gives the homeowner details.
A Garage Door Was Hit After Shots Were Fired
Prince William County Police said officers responded to a home in the 3000 block of Vidalia Court in Dumfries on June 11 at 11:52 p.m. after a shots-fired call.
According to the department’s daily incident report, homeowners were on the porch when they saw two unknown men walking in the area. When the homeowners called out to the men, police said one of them ran between nearby houses, a gunshot was heard immediately after, and the second man also fled on foot.
The damage was not found until the next morning. Police said a bullet hole was located in the garage door of the home, and additional damage was found on the side of a neighboring residence.
No injuries were reported. Police said no shell casings were located and no suspect description was provided.
A Window Screen Was Cut in an Attempted Burglary
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Prince William County Police also reported an attempted residential burglary in the 2000 block of Sequoia Court in Woodbridge. Officers responded on June 12 for an incident reported to have happened around 4 a.m. on June 11.
Police said an unknown man was seen looking through a window before leaving the area on foot. The next morning, the homeowner discovered that the screen to the window had been cut.
No items were reported missing, and police said no additional property damage was reported. The suspect was described only as a male wearing a black hoodie.
Small Exterior Damage Can Be Easy to Miss
Garage doors, siding, window screens, fences, parked vehicles, sheds, and neighboring walls can show damage before anyone realizes a home or property was involved in an incident. In the Dumfries case, the garage-door damage was found the morning after the shots-fired call. In the Woodbridge case, the cut screen was also discovered later.
After late-night noise, suspicious activity, camera alerts, or police activity nearby, check exterior areas in daylight and report damage rather than assuming nothing happened because no one entered the main living space.
Prince William County Police asked anyone with information about the incidents in the report to contact the department’s tipline at 703-792-7000 or submit a web tip through the county police website.