1/6
A man tries to open the front door of Fiorella S.’s house.
Fabian BabicEditor News
In the night from Thursday to Friday, two strangers broke into the garage of a residential building in Herisau AR. The camera of resident Fiorella S.* (44) filmed the two crooks. She publishes the video material without pixelation on social media and asks: “Who knows these two guys?”
The video suddenly went viral. Over 1000 people shared it on Facebook. More than 700,000 users saw it on Tiktok. Fiorella S. is amazed at the feedback: “I think it’s great that so many are in solidarity with us and have shared the video,” she says to Blick. However, some were a bit cocky: “There were some who wanted to play police officers and chase the burglars. They then wrote to me where they had seen the perpetrators.”
Chihuahuas scare off bandits
The incident has unnerved the mother of two. She was asleep during the burglary – she only noticed her dogs barking. But she thought nothing of it and slept on. When she then checks the recordings of the surveillance camera the next morning, the nasty surprise follows: she sees two crooks trying to open the front door. After they fail, one of them brazenly looks at the camera as they continue to sneak around the house. ‘I was quite frightened. I felt a real adrenaline rush.”
She then immediately alerted the police. The officers came to collect evidence. The finding: The perpetrators broke open the garage door and thus gained access to the house. Only a little cash was stolen: “Not worth mentioning,” says S. She was even lucky: “If these guys had opened another door, they would have found two expensive handbags.”
She probably has her dogs to thank for the fact that the bandits didn’t advance any further. S suspects that their barking scared the burglars away. The heroic guard dogs are Chihuahuas.
Meanwhile, the police have started an investigation. In a statement, the cantonal police of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden wrote that there were several burglaries in Herisau between Friday and Monday. It is currently being clarified whether there are any connections between the crimes.
“You have nothing to lose”
Fiorella S. asked the police if she could put the recordings online. You have been advised against it. The burglars could report S. because of this. “But I thought to myself: I don’t care,” says the Appenzeller.
She doesn’t just want the crooks to be caught, she wants to warn her fellow human beings. “We have lived here for 35 years. My father said nobody breaks in here.” The incident shows her, however, that one should not weigh oneself in a false sense of security. And: “These guys can feel exposed.”
She has no sympathy for them. Above all, S. cannot quickly forget the bold look into the camera: “You can tell that these two guys have nothing to lose.” Although they know that they are being filmed, they still broke in. “You have no shame.”
* name known