Posted on 05/26/2006 7:16:26 AM PDT by 54-46 Was My Number
Pinging the collective wisdom of Free Republic here . . .
The Issue
Punks are setting off "Bootleg Cracker" fireworks outside my home -slash- my neighbor's homes, beneath city-owned trees that line the sidewalk. These are the evil devices:
Now, they may not look like much in this picture, but they're about the size of a can of Pringles potato chips, and inside, they're stuffed with 200-250 firecrackers fused to go off within 2 to 3 seconds. So what you get is one big, elongated explosion, and since the city-owned trees are no more than 10 yards from our homes, what you get is one big, elongated explosion that sounds like it's coming from your living room.
And the little bastards are smart, too. Using cigarettes as delay devices, they place these things beneath the trees and are long gone when they go off. We've yet to catch someone in the act of leaving one behind . . . and since we can only rouse the cops to come to our neighborhood after one of these things goes off, there's nothing they can do to stop it from happening again.
It seems to happen between 1930-2100, intermittently, throughout the late spring, summer, and early fall. I would love to camo-up, hide out, and ambush these guys, but short of that,
I ask you, Freepers:
Can fellow hooligans help stymie malicious hooligans? Care to ping the miscreants?
move....or shoot
Could use your wisdom . . . !!!
Hope for a work accident.
borrow a friend's BIG dog and tie him up in the front yard!
Set up a camera outside your home. Stand watch outside your home during the hours you think they will be there. Notify the police of what is happening. Notify any community groups and the local paper.
In the current world climate, one would have to assume that someone planting such a device was a terrorist and call the FBI.
Do you and your neighbors have webcams on your computers? Get one of the little buggers on video and you can probably put a stop to it. And on the plus side, at least these kids are *outside* and *doing something* instead of sitting on their butts watching TV. :)
!!!!!!
That was my first inclination, too---to move. But hell, other than this, I love my neighborhood. And if I move, "the terrorists win." Plus: Patton wouldn't move.
You could also get a gillie suit and wait out there for them with a paintball gun.
Seriously . . . if you know who these kids are, your best bet might be to confront them in the right way. Detonate an explosive device in the neighborhood far more devastating than theirs, and tell them that you'll give them instructions on how to make it as long as they agree to take their act somewhere else.
Set up a camcorder to record the area, us sp mode to maximize recording time.
:-D
A Bushnell trail cam will do the trick.
you can down load the SD chip into your computer too.
Sam's club had them but I'm sure Wally world does too.
What are the gun laws in your city? Just make sure you drag them on your property first...
Seriously, call the cops file a complaint they may stake out the area and catch em.. since what they are doing is dangerous i.e., if someone or a pet got close to one of those things as it went off sounds like it could do some damage..
Two large dogs in the yard should do it.
Seriously, get a video camera with long play capability and set it so that it can see several of the trees.
My neighbors and I have done everything short of setting up the cameras . . . the story in the paper ran under a head like this: LOCAL TERRORISTS MAKING LIFE MISERABLE . . . and it was an above-the-fold front page story (must've been a slow news day).
Anyone got any camera advice?
Quietly report it to the police. Calmly explain to them what is happening. Tell them someone is leaving time delay improvised explosive devises in your neighborhood. It is a very serious matter and you expect them to act on it immedicately.
DO NOT take matters in to your own hands.
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