Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Fort Lauderdale homeowner is speaking out days after, she said, two male subjects attempted to break into her home while her teenage daughter was alone.
Kari Bookmyer said she immediately felt compelled to come to her daughter’s aid after receiving her phone call, Friday evening.
“Your first instinct is to protect your children,” she said.
Moments after she answered her cellphone, Bookmyer said, the call took a frightening turn.
“There was banging on the front door, and she was coming out of the bedroom thinking it was me to open the door,” she said,
But Bookmyer was still on her way home from work, so whoever was at her front door was not her.
Doorbell surveillance video shows a young man outside of the residence, just after 6 p.m.
“She was hysterical, telling me, ‘I don’t know what’s going on,'” said Bookmyer. “First there was banging on the door. Then the glass shattered.”
The homeowner said the sliding glass door in the back of the property had been shattered.
As panic set in, Bookmyer kept her daughter on the phone and used her other cellphone to call 911.
“I do have a concealed weapons permit, and I did tell the dispatcher I was going in my home,” said Bookmyer. “They suggested to wait for police, but with my daughter inside, I really didn’t care.”
Bookmyer said she raced home. When she arrived, she said, she did not take any chances.
“I went inside, and I had my weapon drawn,” she said. “I told [my daughter] to lock herself back in the bathroom until we knew the house was cleared.”
Fort Lauderdale Police arrived shortly after, and fortunately, there was no one else at home.
Bookmyer is now hoping that whoever is behind this attempted break-in is caught.
“The fact that it was 6 at night makes it even scarier,” she said.
If you have any information on this attempted break-in or the subjects’ whereabouts, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.