Neighbors

Roikyou

Roikyou

Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
298
Can I do a light rant here? it's about community, more or less. Got a call yesterday afternoon, wife came home to our back sliding glass door shattered, nice hole in the center and a bb that pretty much shows a straight shot from the neighbors behind us. I called non emergency, just in case I needed a report for insurance, etc. (turns out I have a 3100 co pay, yay on that one) The officer took a look and pretty much confirmed that it came from the house behind me. He went over and of course they don't answer. Talking with the officer, he gave me some information about my neighbors, sounds like parents in the 40's and at least one 19 or 20 year old, thought he said two. So, my first thoughts, parents at work, kids bored, new bb gun, yay, lets take out the neighbors 500 dollar plus window, works pretty good. I stopped by there house after work, not to be a jackass, not to ask for money but to ask not to point a rifle or pistol at my house. Be a neighbor will you. I hope moving forward, this is a one off. We've been there a little over a year, brand new house, just finished July of 2016. No previous issues with them. I don't know if the friendly neighbor approach will work, there is little the police can do as they don't have any real evidence or anyone who saw it, unfortunately, I work for a living. Guess I'm curious of the forums thoughts. Of course this adds stress and anxiety in life which nobody needs.

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Nothing wrong with going over and talking to the neighbor IMO. Maybe, if they're good neighbors, they (or their kid) will fess up! Might have been just an accident, but should pay up too!
 
I want to stay as neutral as possible, just got an estimate of 470, I'll pay, just don't point your guns towards my house again...
 
That stinks!

Is that a wall behind your house? I'm wondering where they would be standing and aiming to clear the wall and hit your window.

I don't have any definitive advice. I would maybe try to feel out the situation a bit--as it sounds like you have done with the police, and consider talking to them/or not based on what I learn.

Will the police be willing to go back again? This appears to be a safety hazard--what if it didn't hit your glass and got one of you instead...

I had a neighbor who was doing something illegal in their yard and talked their way out of it with the firemen who answered the call. Later, I went to the fire station and another fire fighter returned to their house a few times until he found them at home. They issued a ticket. Behavior stopped. (Are BB guns legal?)

Can you install a camera to capture something like this? So if it happens again you will have the proof you need?
 
The fence is the legal limit, I'm guessing 6'. Then there are privacy hedges that are thinned out due to the winter, the officer was amazed that it made it through the hedges. I might stop by one more time this weekend, to be neutral and ask to be a friendly neighbor, not to point a pistol or rifle at my house. The office is on his weekend but back on duty this weekend, he's going to stop by again, he asked me how I wanted to handle it. I said as polite as possible. The camera is something we (officer and I) talked about as I have nest camera inside, next step would be an outdoor camera pointed towards the fence if we continue to have issues.
 
Looks like a "powerful" BB gun hit. Most won't penetrate double paned windows or typically shatter the window. A 22 will do that. I've done it and I paid the price for the repair. I would have a chat with the neighbors and I know they'll deny it.

The camera is a very good idea. It is a good passive security measure, but I would do front and back.
 
The front is all brand new homes, my neighbor across the street in the front is a sheriff. My whole street is brand new. Behind my street, on both side, old.

Definitely a bb gun, the silver bb is still there. I'm familiar with a 22, definitely wasn't but I'm with you, must have been powerful to put a hole in it but at least it didn't break the second pane of glass.
 
Roikyou said:
Can I do a light rant here? it's about community, more or less. Got a call yesterday afternoon, wife came home to our back sliding glass door shattered, nice hole in the center and a bb that pretty much shows a straight shot from the neighbors behind us. I called non emergency, just in case I needed a report for insurance, etc. (turns out I have a 3100 co pay, yay on that one) The officer took a look and pretty much confirmed that it came from the house behind me. He went over and of course they don't answer. Talking with the officer, he gave me some information about my neighbors, sounds like parents in the 40's and at least one 19 or 20 year old, thought he said two. So, my first thoughts, parents at work, kids bored, new bb gun, yay, lets take out the neighbors 500 dollar plus window, works pretty good. I stopped by there house after work, not to be a jackass, not to ask for money but to ask not to point a rifle or pistol at my house. Be a neighbor will you. I hope moving forward, this is a one off. We've been there a little over a year, brand new house, just finished July of 2016. No previous issues with them. I don't know if the friendly neighbor approach will work, there is little the police can do as they don't have any real evidence or anyone who saw it, unfortunately, I work for a living. Guess I'm curious of the forums thoughts. Of course this adds stress and anxiety in life which nobody needs.

ChhZgZZ.jpg
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I can tell you right now that is messed up, but also part of living on planet earth. Getting into a feud with the neighbours will not be worth it even if you do manage to get some cash out of them. Bad neighbours can make life a living hell.

It seems to me that they know they are in the wrong obviously but don’t have the decency to talk it out like civilized people. (People today only do confrontations over twitter) So send them a message. Write a letter explaining your position and put it in their mail box. That way they know you know, and you will know they know you know.

Even if they don’t respond you will have dominance (i hate that word) in this relationship now. They will have to tuck tail when they see you coming. That is why it is better for them to just fess up. They are turning a minor issue way bigger than it needs to be.
 
The key thing is, I'll pay for it, we have emergency funds or repair funds. Some of us are raised with the decency to talk it out, some are not. Things may change in the next couple days, they may not. I honestly only want one thing, not to point that gun at my house again.
 
We shot BB guns when I was a kid—including in a backyard (.75–1 acre) with a 6’ wall and shrubbery. We never accidentally hit our neighbors’ property.

Is there any way this was an accident? That they do not realize they shot your house and broke a window?

Also, can the officer go back with the BB as evidence?

What about talking to the sheriff across the street?
 
Sheriff's are county and policy are by city. The officer didn't take the bb, from what I gathered, it wasn't enough. Part of my hope of contacting them (the neighbors) is bringing it to they're attention they did cause damage, don't care about recouping cost, I don't want it to happen again. Next step would be outdoor camera's, etc.
 
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Maybe you can present it to the neighbor in a non-confrontational way, such as "hey, my window got shot out by a BB gun, have you seen any strangers in the area?" Then tell them you're going to check your camera for footage to see if you can see anyone on it. (I know you can't see who did it, but maybe that will get word to the kids that they're being watched)
 
I fall kind of where glen does ... it probably wouldn't serve you well to be confrontational or accusatory with your neighbors ... but I would approach them and tell them what happened and ask if they saw anyone around or heard anything ...

and I would ask all your neighbors the same thing ... someone may have seen something ... or may have had a similar issue ... or may know if the kids in the neighborhood have done it before or if some shoot BB guns.

and the camera would be a good idea ... even if you buy a trail cam to setup outside or inside facing where you believe the shot cane from.

hopefully someone will have seen or maybe knows who might be responsible.

Glad it was a BB and a double pane and no one was injured ... hope it's a one time issue.
 
I would (like to think) this is how I would handle the situation goes like this..... I would calmly and peacefully talk to one of the adults of the household. To explain my concerns as to what happened. And if that does not work I would think of it like karma! You know "boys will be boys". I got away with tons of stupid shit as a teenage boy. I bet you did too! Then reflect on all the times you got away with one. Although I'm not out all that money.
 
They may not know a sheriff lives across the street from you. ;) Try this, "I had my window shot out and I'm contacting the surrounding neighbors to see if any of you have had such problems. The SHERIFF "across the street from me" said he hadn't heard anything but would keep an eye out (I'm confident that he will). Might at least cause some caution on their part. :thumbsup: Good luck with bad neighbors, it usually doesn't go well. :(
 
I really doubt it was done on purpose. I've shot out a window (or two) as a kid, and I wasn't aiming anywhere near where the BB ended up. It happens. Round BB's have a crazy deflection if they hit something hard. They can easily rebound 180 degrees.

Talk to your neighbors. I'm surprised you haven't before now. I can't believe you've lived there over a year and didn't know if they even had kids.
 
I did as a kid shhot a window, so yes, karma. Think i did end of fessing up to it, been over 30 years... i did stop by that night, nobody answered. Im still thinking for peace of mind, stopping by over the weekend, hopefully catching the adults, using the non-confrontational approach of “did you see or know of, please dont point a bb gun at my house, not asking to be reimbursed”, tie that together in a readible sentence.
 
I think you are on the right track, just letting them know you know. It could very well be that it was just some dumb mistake and the kid isn't willing to fess up, or they are so worried about a lawsuit that they don't want to admit to anything. Being the good neighbor is likely to pay off down the road. There is a hundred ways it could have happened, and a thousand explanations why no one came forward. Not worth getting too worked up over, as you said, no one got hurt, and windows can be repaired.
 
If you are fairly confident that the BB came from the neighboring property, offer the neighbor the OPPORTUNITY to pay for the damage in lieu of you contacting the authorities. They will probably accept your generous offer to avoid further unpleasantness, and the adult "children" will likely take future shenanigans elsewhere. BTW..., why is everyone so afraid to call someone out on their bull****?
 
eisman said:
I really doubt it was done on purpose. I've shot out a window (or two) as a kid, and I wasn't aiming anywhere near where the BB ended up. It happens. Round BB's have a crazy deflection if they hit something hard. They can easily rebound 180 degrees.

Talk to your neighbors. I'm surprised you haven't before now. I can't believe you've lived there over a year and didn't know if they even had kids.
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I barely know the people two houses down from me. Not knowing neighbors doesn't surprise me in the least and I think it's the norm these days. "Boys will be Boys" is precisely why the neighbor should do the responsible thing, own up to it. But these days, if it involves money.... "sue me" and they will never never admit it regardless of being sworn in since there were no witnesses. Things like this really piss me off.

I was young once and did not do stupid stuff like this accident or not....

I was in a car accident in October and from my point of view it was entirely the fault of the other car. The police said it was "my fault". My insurance company agreed with me and told them "take us to court", but you may find out that you will be paying for the damage on two vehicles and not just one.
 
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