Creepy Halloween prank perpetrators unmasked: It was family, police say – National

Alexandria Police Department Chief Tarrick McGuire said the the mask-wearing trio caught on Ring security camera footage standing outside of a Alexandria, Va., home on Oct. 14 were actually cousins of the residents, according to Fox 5.

The Alexandria Police Department’s Criminal Investigations “dedicated more than 100 hours to identifying those involved,” according to a statement from the department.

“A significant break in the case came after the department’s first press conference, when multiple community tips led investigators to the suspects, three juveniles, ages 14 to 16, who were related to the victim,” police said.

McGuire said that a woman confessed that she, her two sons and her nephew staged the incident. There were also two additional adults reportedly filming the “prank.”

In the footage, the masked males made threats toward Shayla Whiteside and her family, saying they would kill them, while trying to get inside the house.

“Your worst nightmare. Open the f— up,” the suspects yelled after ringing the doorbell. One wore a clown mask, another wore a costume resembling Michael Myers from the Halloween film franchise and the third was dressed as a nun.

“It’s either you coming out or we coming in. Open the door,” one person said in the video, as he tried to open the front door.

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Whiteside previously said that she told the group she was on the phone with 911 and that police were on the way.

“They kept, like, knocking on the door,” she said. “The knocks would get harder and harder.”

Whiteside said that the situation was “not even a joke gone wrong.”

“They tried to enter into the home. My heart dropped when they said they were gonna take a chair and break down the door,” she added.

Whiteside said the incident lasted about 10 minutes and left her entire family shaken.

“My dad recently just died, so it’s just like, I’m just glad I was there,” Whiteside said after the incident. “But now she’s [her mother] in fear. She don’t wanna stay there by herself.”

Earlier this month, McGuire referred to the incident as “a very serious matter” and said if arrested, the suspects could face charges for the incident, including making criminal threats and burglary.

“They began to make threatening and alarming comments to the family … specifically, they said, ‘If you do not come out, we will come in,’ and also threatened to do bodily harm, stating that they would ultimately kill them,” McGuire said during a press conference.

McGuire has now revealed that the family has chosen to “not pursue criminal charges,” therefore the suspects “will not be publicly identified.”

“While this case may not result in prosecution, it represents a serious moral failure,” McGuire said. “Pranks of this nature are not taken lightly. Actions like these could have had deadly consequences. Adults must be accountable for their children, and parents have a moral responsibility to guide and correct their behaviour.”

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