Halloween mask-wearing creeps terrorized a widow in Virginia as chilling doorbell footage showed the trio trying to break into her home and threatening to kill the occupants.
The three suspects showed up at the Alexandria home — about eight miles from Washington, DC — around 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to the homeowner’s daughter, Shayla, WUSA9 reported.
“At first I thought it was just a Halloween joke, a little prank,” Shayla said. “So I said, ‘Happy Halloween.’”
But when the masked intruders refused to leave, she warned them she’d call the police — a threat that failed to deter them.
“They kept, like, knocking on the door,” she recalled. “The knocks would get harder and harder.”
The family’s doorbell video captured three figures — one dressed as horror villain Michael Myers from the “Halloween” movie franchise, another as a clown, and a third as a sinister-looking nun — pounding on the door and demanding entry into the home.
“It’s either you coming out or we coming in,” one of them shouted. “Open the door!”
According to Fox 5, Shayla’s younger brother and family dog were also present in the home during the late-night scare.
They also made threatening gestures before moving to the back of the home.
The group broke through a wooden fence, slashed open deck screens, and banged on windows while peering inside.
“They were just hitting the window,” Shayla told WUSA. “My heart dropped when they said they were gonna take a chair and break down the door. That is just too much.”
Shayla told the outlet the masked suspects “threatened to kill us.” After about 10 minutes of pure terror, the trio finally left — leaving Shayla and her widowed mother shaken.
“It’s not even a joke gone wrong. They tried to enter the home,” she said. “My dad recently just died, so it’s like … I’m just glad I was there. But now she’s in fear. She doesn’t want to stay there by herself.”
Shayla also noted how differently things could have gone.
“Our Second Amendment right was not used — and could have been,” she told the outlet.
Social media users recalled how the frightening encounter was eerily similar to the 2013 thriller film “The Purge.”
“Literally The Purge,” one commenter said on X.
“They’re lucky they didn’t get shot,” another user said.
“These criminals are becoming more brazen and asking to be gunned down. THIS IS NOT A GAME- people are on edge- you are playing with your life,” another added.
Alexandria Police Chief Tarrik McGuire called the incident a “very serious matter.”
“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 at a Thursday press conference.
He said investigators are reviewing additional surveillance footage from nearby homes and businesses to identify the suspects.
McGuire said the trio may face charges including burglary and criminal threats — and echoed Shayla’s warning about citizens’ rights.
“They attempted to enter a residence, and under Virginia state law, that constitutes burglary,” he said. “It’s a warning to people: Do not go up to people’s doors, make threats, advance their doorways, and play with their lives — because it can end very badly.”
