TOOELE, Utah — A FOX 13 News viewer reached out to share a frightening incident that happened at a Tooele home over the weekend.
The Pratts moved to Overlake about two years ago.
“We wanted to have a quiet, safe place for our kids to play outside,” said Carlee Pratt.
The family said it had been a quiet neighborhood until recently.
“Both of us heard a loud voice," Carlee explained. "In my head, I thought teenagers being rambunctious on a Friday night,”
Carlee's husband, Jeff, said that just after 11 p.m. Friday, three masked men tried to get into their home.
“...I basically braced the door just in case, if they kicked… I wasn’t expecting them to kick. But they did very aggressively. It was full force; they were trying to get the door open,” Jeff said.
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“I hear this insanely loud banging, crashing, on our main floor. I sit up, and not even a second goes by, and my husband yells for me, 'Get the gun!'” said Carlee.
It was a situation the family never expected to be in.
“The door came open, even with me pushing against it," Jeff explained. "I was able to push it shut, and at that point, I yelled up to my wife to grab the gun.”
Jeff said that after yelling for his gun, the people kicking and banging on his front door left the home.
“We haven’t been able to sleep. The nightmares. The anxiety. You just feel unsafe in your own home where my little girls sleep,” explained Carlee.
The Pratts are now asking neighbors in the Overlake development to check their home security footage.
“People have reached out and said, 'Oh, it’s a TikTok trend, people kick doors then run away. It’s a prank in a way to downplay," said Jeff.
The Tooele City police are still investigating the incident.
“Coming up, kicking the door, breaking the door frame. That’s just scary,” said neighbor Greg Blanton.
Blanton seemed in disbelief over what’s been happening in his own area.
“When you’re in your house, you’re supposed to feel safe," he said. "I’ve lived pretty much my whole life; this is a safe place. We don’t have this kind of garbage.”
Blanton hopes something changes and that more police patrols would be welcomed.
As for the Pratts, they are giving it their all to find out who was at their door.
“Now we’re at the point where we’re angry," said Carlee, "and we’ll stop at nothing.”
