Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Harmless prank or worth investigating?

nala

nala

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
7,448
So last night I was startled by what seemed to be gunshots at 2:23 am. Within minutes, 5 police cars were at my door. It turns out, someone lit fireworks on my driveway! The cops dismissed it as a prank. But one of my neighbors has cameras and we may be able to find evidence. As it is, my hubby and other neighbor saw the getaway car and caught a glimpse of the suspect. I don't know if I should panic over this and look into it, or just dismiss it as a prank.
 
if the police thought it was teenagers pulling a prank I probably wouldn't worry to much about. The entire month of July we have fireworks going off constantly that sound like gunshots. I don't usually give it a second thought and only get mad because it upsets my furbaby.
 
Why would you panic over this? What is there to panic about?
 
Marypoppins, For one, my cars were parked in the driveway. Luckily they didn't get damaged. For two, I'm a high school teacher. Many of my friends are insinuating that my students might be trying to scare me.
 
I certainly wouldn't panic about this...like at all. But keeping an eye on things, and checking out the camera footage is a good idea. Even if it was a prank, it could still cause property damage, or those dumb kids could have hurt themselves on your property.
 
I'm not a teacher and on 2 separate occasions in two separate houses we've had kids lighting off fireworks on or near our yard when it starts getting nice out. It's annoying.
 
It's reassuring to read your opinions. Most of my friends think it's a big deal and that someone is out to get me!!!
 
hmm think I will plead the 5th on this one just in case the statute of limitations on disorderly conduct is over 35 years :}
 
It was most likely just some kids messing around it may or may not have been specific to you.
I would not be worried about it unless a pattern develops and it turns into harassment.
 
N, I can see why you would have questions. Even if it were some of your students, though, they aren't necessarily out to harm you or your property. They may have just been stupid, as you say a prank.
 
Hmmmm talk to your neighbors and tell them what happened and ask them to keep an eye out.

I suspect its kids being stupid and not specifically targeting you.
 
Hmmm...I would get a hold of that video footage and make sure I have a copy if it captured the pranksters. Just in case.
 
Getaway car? That doesn't say "neighborhood kids prank" to me, it says "specific target."
Still could be just a prank. It's the end of the school year, and kids do it all the time. Some are more mild--my friends and I baked a cake and decorated it to say "Love, E and C" who were my French teacher's pet students, and left it at said French teacher's doorstep. One of my friends involved in the prank (probably the ringleader as I recall) was Valedictorian and went on to study in France and is now a French professor. There was a bit of a rivalry between C, the Salutatorian, and her. :lol:

We were just kids. Kids do stupid shit, no matter their class rank.
 
I'd look at the footage and see who it was and what they were doing. Likely "just a prank" but you might confirm that and relax your friends if the video shows just "kids being dumb" and nothing else. Definitely save it in case you need it later.
Also, I may be getting old and cranky but I would be likely to send the police to talk to the kids & parents. If they got hurt on your property, you would be liable. They could do serious damage to property. The "just a prank" could escalate. (Or, if you know the parents and feel comfortable doing so you might just have a chat with them so they know what the kids are up to)
 
HI:

How unnerving. First you were startled out of bed and then neighbors saw people outside your home at 0230.

The police see a lot of this stuff--hence they reduce it to easy explanation e.g pranks. And while that is very likely the case you can still be upset.

cheers--Sharon
 
Does your high school have a "tradition" of senior pranks? Is it possible you were chosen to be the recipient of that?

I, personally, would be concerned Fireworks can be dangerous and why would it be okay for high school students to be out at 2AM, setting them off on the driveway of an unsuspecting family, whether or not a teacher lived there? I think if I could identify the "pranksters" I would want the police to have a little talk with them, and if this part of a so called tradition, the principal as well.

To explain my concern, six years ago, when my older daughter was in high school, some of her classmates were participating in such a "tradition" called Junior-Senior Wars. Long story, short, one of the students was very seriously injured. She came close to losing her life. The one good thing that came out of it is the "wars" ended there. My younger daughter is now a senior and her class prank was to hire a bagpiper to play outside the principal's office for an hour one day. (No harm done, except maybe to the office personnel's hearing for a while :) )
 
The senior prank theory doesn't seem likely bc I don't live in the same city as my school and very few kids drive out of their city and into mine. Very few of my kids have cars. There have been no major senior pranks in the past 20 years of my teaching at the same school. It seems unlikely. But yes Sharon, it was very unnerving.
 
My last home, we had fireworks go off several times right outside our house and we assumed it was teenagers. One time in the middle of the night so we called the police. They saw that the lights were on at our next door neighbors and when they knocked, the drunk neighbors (adults/homeowners) answered. They were the ones who lit off the fireworks. Not malicious, just stupid and drunk. After the police visit, it didn't happen again.

I agree with the advice, if its a one time thing I would not worry. If it becomes a pattern, I would investigate it more.
 
If you think it may be gunshots call 911.

... just in case.

If you're wrong, so what?
Let the cops decide whether it's guns or pranking teens.
BOTH should be dealt with.
 
Last edited:
I think you should ease your mind, and ask your neighbor to check his/her camera. Especially, if it is a student the school can disapline him or her. If it's a neighborhood kid, and his or her parents might want to know what their child has been up to. Setting off fireworks in someone's driveway is not cool, especially in the middle of the night. It's so dangerous too!
 
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top