Burglary in Alexandria Stopped By Canary

Steve Pugh was out of town in Martha’s Vineyard when an intruder entered his Alexandria, VA home hundreds of miles away.

This is the email Steve sent us that day:

“My family and I have been away on vacation since 11 August, and today (20 Aug), I received a notification that Canary had detected movement inside our home at 8:42am. I immediately checked the captured video, and saw a rough-looking male, carrying a long knife, entering my kitchen and proceeding to my basement.

One minute from being notified by Canary, and watching live, I pressed the ‘Sound the siren’ button as the perpetrator was proceeding up to my second floor. The sirens went off, and the burglar immediately ran down the stairs and out of my house. Meanwhile, I used the second button ‘Emergency Call’ to notify the Alexandria, VA Police Department.”

One minute from being notified by Canary, and watching live, I pressed the ‘Sound the siren’ button as the perpetrator was proceeding up to my second floor.

“While watching the events unfold, my immediate reaction was to call 911…but I’m in Martha’s Vineyard and that would have done me no good. I’m so thankful that you had the “Emergency Call” button available as it saved me precious seconds when they mattered most. I told the police dispatcher what was happening in real-time, and they sent 11 police officers to the scene.”

I’m so thankful that you had the ‘Emergency Call’ button available as it saved me precious seconds when they mattered most.

“From first notification, to apprehending the burglar, took less than 15 minutes. And thanks to the Canary sirens, the perpetrator was only in my house for 85 seconds. Additionally, this guy had broken into two other homes in my neighborhood. Had it not been for Canary, I’m certain other homes would have been burglarized, and he most likely would have gotten away with it.”

Had it not been for Canary, I’m certain other homes would have been burglarized, and he most likely would have gotten away with it.

“I have a nine-month old daughter, so knowing that Canary came through in such a big way means a lot. Thank you from my entire family for the work you’re doing…Canary started as a small idea so many months ago, and now you’re protecting families.”

Here’s Steve telling his story on Fox and Friends:

Many thanks to Fox and Friends for covering this story, and to Steve for sharing it with us!

If a serious incident is captured by your Canary, you can get in touch with us at stories@canary.is or by calling 1-888-271-0121. You can share your Canary videos with us at: http://canary.is/share-stories/.