An Edmonton man is thanking his doorbell camera for thwarting two would-be thieves during an attempted break-in on Tuesday.
Clem Ho captured two men on his security system using tools to break through the front door of his Wedgewood Heights family home just before 2 p.m.
Ho received a notification from his doorbell camera and tuned in to a live feed just in time to see the men canvas his southwest house. The video he captured shows one man walk up to his home and start knocking on the door. When the man doesn’t get an answer from anyone inside, he pulls a walkie talkie out of his bag and radios the second would-be thief.
“By the time the second guy showed up, I knew it was a matter of seconds,” Ho said. “Adrenaline was running high.”
When one of the men grabbed what looked to be a screwdriver and started to jam it into the door, Ho knew he act to act quickly.
“He makes three or four really hard attempts [to get in],” Ho said. “The first thing that popped into my mind was to say ‘get away from the door.’”
While the man is making a last attempt to get the door open, Ho used the system’s built-in microphone to tell them to get away from his home. He said by the time he hit the speak button, the door had actually come open.
Ho’s voice over the intercom scared away the men and they quickly retreated out of sight.
Ho has lived in the home with his wife and three children since 2000. He installed the camera last year.
“It was great timing!”
Edmonton police were called and are currently investigating the incident. Ho said the EPS told him on Tuesday that one of the men was known to them.
A video of the incident has been viewed and shared thousands of times on social media.
