MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Miami Shores police are on the hunt for a dangerous and violent trio accused of terrorizing a neighborhood on Thanksgiving.
"Everyone is trying to enjoy their meals, have a good time, family, friends, maybe out of town traveling, and here you have a bunch of hoodlums," Miami Shore police Chief Kevin Lystad said.
The first sign of trouble was reported about 7 a.m. when security cameras recorded the men getting ready to break into a home off Northeast 10th Place.
But their plan was foiled by an alert neighbor who was on the way to the gym with his wife when they spotted trouble.
"I literally saw an individual hanging out of the south side window of the home," Miami Shores resident Brett Firestone said.
Firestone said he didn't think twice about going after the thieves who are seen in a security camera video fleeing in a white Infiniti sedan.
"They were probably going close to 100 mph," Firestone said.
Firestone said the wild chase came to an end on Biscayne Boulevard.
"My first thought was I was scared for my wife, who was screaming, very distraught," he said.
Shaken but uninjured, Firestone and his wife waited for police, but the brazen burglars weren't finished.
A few minutes later, they broke into a home off Northwest 100th Terrace. Once inside, police said, the men punched a 13-year-old boy in the face while his 11-year-old sister watched.
Neighbors said they plan to meet the police department and they want to come up with a plan to make sure the men do not return.
"What they're doing is not going to last very long, and eventually they will be caught and they will be put to justice," Firestone said.