GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY-A northern Michigan family was shaken early one morning after a man repeatedly tried to break into their home, pounding on doors and screaming as children slept inside.
Homeowner Calvin Wilson said he was awakened around 1:07 a.m. by loud banging on his front door and a man yelling outside his home in Blair Valley Estate, near Chums Corner.
“There was a loud bang on my front door, multiple times,” Wilson said. “And a guy screaming at the top of his lungs.”
Wilson said the man ran around the house and toward the back, where his 2- and 3-year-old children were sleeping, before circling back to the front.
“He proceeded to turn around and grab the railing and just start kicking the door as hard as he could while he was screaming,” Wilson said.
The door held, preventing the man from getting inside. Wilson said neighboring homes were damaged during the incident.
“My neighbors weren’t so lucky,” he said.
Wilson said the man appeared to be under the influence of drugs, based on his behavior.
“It was clear that he was on drugs or something,” Wilson said. “The way he was acting — that was crazy.”
Wilson and his family moved into the neighborhood just a few weeks ago. He said longtime residents told him they had never experienced a similar incident.
“I talked with some neighbors today who have been there for 20 years and have never had an issue at all,” he said.
Wilson said he has always felt safe in the area and that this was the first time something like this has happened to him.
“I always felt safe,” he said.
Willson spent the day installing new security measures at his house and making sure he was armed and ready if the incident happened again. he says he’s focused on keeping his family safe.
“I just need to be able to protect my family,” he said. “It’s a miracle he didn’t come through the door.”