‘I felt defenseless at that point’; Vandals use pumpkins to damage homes in Kent, Covington

Neighbors in Kent, Covington concerned by pumpkin vandals

Vandals smashing pumpkins is not a new phenomenon, but homeowners in Kent and Covington are now being terrorized by people taking pumpkins and damaging their homes and cars.

COVINGTON, Wash. - Vandals often take this time of year as an opportunity to destroy pumpkins off front porch steps.

Now, they're taking it a step too far, using the pumpkins to damage parts of the house. Now, homeowners in Kent and Covington are concerned about what they'll do next.

"I saw these three guys, pretty big, coming at my door and just ripping apart everything," said Teresa St. Arnauld, a homeowner in Covington.

The single mom shared frightening home surveillance footage with FOX 13 News from Friday, shortly after midnight.

"I still get goosebumps when I talk about it," St. Arnauld said. "I didn't know what to think, and I don't know why."

In the video, you can see a group of men taking the pumpkins off her front porch and tossing them. You can also see them ripping off pieces of Halloween decorations and throwing them. One of the painted pumpkins even hit St. Arnauld's car.

"I'm not a person that can get intimidated really well," St. Arnauld said. "I was shaking. I was, you know, my voice was wavering when I was talking to the police. I was scared. I had my daughter upstairs. I didn't know what they were going to do. I didn't know if it was a home invasion or not."

St. Arnauld said it was her dog that alerted her something was happening outside. She said with a camera surveillance system and a well-lit property, she felt she was living in a safe environment until last Friday.

"I felt defenseless at that point," St. Arnauld said. "I felt like if these people come into the house, what am I going to do?"

St. Arnauld isn't the only victim of this crime.

A homeowner in Kent posted their home surveillance footage to social media on Thursday morning. It shows a group of men with face masks on creating the same kind of destruction. This time, the vandals damaged the house, throwing pumpkins that broke the home's front window and cracked the door frame.

"Now, it's getting more violent," St. Arnauld said. "What's going to happen next weekend? What's going to happen next year?"

Both homeowners called the police for help, but no arrests have been made. The hope is that someone identifies these people and reports them so no one else experiences this fear.

Police did recover 'Bonesy,' the large skeleton stolen from St. Arnauld's porch Friday night. Police found him on the side of the road nearby. He's back home with some bruises.

On the day of Halloween, there is a 72% increase in insurance claims for vandalism and malicious mischief. According to data provided by Travelers Insurance, Halloween also sees an uptick in other types of claims, including theft and mysterious disappearance—these are usually claims of lost, misplaced or stolen items.