Tarzana homeowner scares off burglary suspects using paintball gun

A Tarzana man with an elaborate security camera system foiled an attempted burglary at a neighbor’s home overnight, scaring off the suspects with bright lights and a paintball gun, authorities said Wednesday.

Officers were sent to the 5400 block of Aura Avenue, a couple blocks south of the 101 Freeway, about 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police were seeking three to four males wearing masks who fled in a four-door sedan.

According to broadcast reports, the residents were home when the suspects went onto their property.

Julian Harper-Smith, who lives across the street, told reporters that he set up more than three dozen cameras in the area, with a trailer from which he monitors the video.

Harper-Smith said he saw the suspects jump over a wall onto his neighbor’s property, and he flashed bright lights at them and fired at them with a paintball gun.

Surveillance footage from the scene shows the suspects running back to their car and driving away as Harper-Smith fired paintball rounds at the vehicle.

“The thievery that goes on around here, it happens all the time,” Smith said in remarks broadcast on ABC7. “If you keep your windows locked, your doors locked, they’re most likely not gonna go in. Back in the day, they used to break the windows. Unless they see something, they’re not breaking your window.”

Tuesday night’s incident follows a series of recent home burglaries in surrounding areas, including in Woodland Hills and Encino.