Stevensville Ding Dong Ditch Video Has Everyone Talking
To whoever was part of a recent "DING DONG DITCH" incident in Stevensville,
Please take the time to read this.
My family and I have lived in Stevensville for ten years. One reason we decided to move from Missoula in 2015 was how peaceful the community felt. We had always envisioned the type of town where you’d wave hello to your neighbors, kids would bike freely, and the last thing you'd ever worry about was locking your front door.
Over the course of our ten-year stay in Stevensville, I’ve never seriously worried about my family’s safety.
That changed when I watched recent surveillance video footage circulating around local Stevensville social media pages. The video shows 2 individuals dressed in black and wearing face masks. These individuals walked onto someone's front porch and appeared to try to open a screen door. At 3:30 in the morning! Unfortunately, I cannot share the video because alleged teens are involved.
The Stevensville Police chalked it up as a simple prank. Claiming the individuals were playing a game of "DING DONG DITCH."
Regardless of whether you were simply playing a game of ding-dong ditch or not, most people viewed this incident completely differently. What they witnessed were two individuals entirely covered head-to-toe in black clothes and face masks who arrived at someone’s front porch at approximately 3:30 AM and tried their front door.
Those are two very distinct things.
As a teenager myself, I did some stupid things. I’m pretty sure most of us did. However, never once did I think that going to a stranger’s house in the middle of the night and attempting to enter through their front door was a good idea.
Why?
The person on the other side of that door has no knowledge of your age. The person on the other side does not know your intentions. And the person on the other side has no way of knowing if you’re playing a prank, searching for an open front door, or attempting to enter by force.
What they do know is that someone attempted to gain entry into their home while their family was sleeping.
We are in Montana.
There are more gun-owning households in Montana than anywhere else in the country. And many residents are willing to protect themselves and their families if they think that someone is entering their residence without permission. That’s not bravery. That’s fact-based reality.
If a homeowner misinterprets your actions as a home invasion, both parties lose. The homeowner will have to deal with the emotional ramifications of making a life-altering decision in a matter of seconds, and a family may be mourning over a tragedy that could have easily been avoided by not doing something this stupid.
No one wants that.
Going to someone’s front porch in the middle of the night in dark clothes and a face mask is not funny. It is not harmless. It causes fear, makes homeowners hyper-vigilant, and can result in serious consequences.
One bad decision at 3:30 AM can drastically alter lives. And that cost is much higher than any joke is worth.
Sincerely, a well-armed citizen
Best counties to live in Montana
Gallery Credit: Stacker