CONNECTICUT, USA — All over Connecticut, people share similar stories.
"There [were] two people that got out of the vehicle and they checked both cars that were in the driveway," said John LaPlante of Glastonbury.
"They just continued to check all the handles on the cars in the driveway, we had three cars outside at the time," said Jason Zandri of Wallingford.
"We could see these three criminals descend onto our property, come up the driveway, hit the cars in the driveway and then proceed into our garage," said Melinda Smith of Glastonbury.
Many incidents happen at night while families sleep.
"You hear these stories and you just wonder when is it ever going to stop?" said Robert Nielsen of North Haven.
People are now turning to others for help.
Gregory Lucenay with Brothers Sound and Security out of Rocky Hill helps give people some peace of mind when he's called to install security systems. It's something he's been doing a lot more over the last year or so.
"People like to see what's going on outside of the home especially with what's going on," he said. "They're like you know, how soon can you get a camera system in for us?"
The extra set of eyes not only comforting for families but also help for police trying to track suspects down.
"Sometimes when something reoccurring happens the cops are able to identify well we've seen this guy a couple of times in videos this is the guy we're looking for and it's easier to help the neighborhood," Lucenay said.
While people are protective of their homes and their belongings, things that happen elsewhere also have people seeking ways to stay safe.
In Rocky Hill and West Hartford, two women were carjacked in broad daylight in busy parking lots, physically pulled out of their vehicles.
In Marlborough, a 64-year-old woman was robbed, assaulted, and abducted while loading groceries into her car. That incident happened right across from Michael Hwang's taekwondo studio.
"It's obviously very scary to the residents and to anyone even to me," he said.
What started as a free self-defense class after the incident, has turned into weekly lessons about how to protect yourself if something like that were to ever happen.
"A lot of times I ask the ladies like what do you want to learn? What's something you want to get out of this and they tell me oh like what happens if I get choked from behind? And then like okay we go from there," Hwang said.
It's what Tom Galasso teaches in Cheshire as well. A women's self-defense class that also started by popular demand, is one of the tools he teaches at Tom's Defensive Firearms Training. He's also seen an uptick in pistol permit applications, and in interest in his classes.
"They're really taught situational awareness and conflict avoidance. To be aware of people within their immediate vicinity and the people in their general location to be able to spot a potential threat by recognizing body language and human behavior to get themselves out of that situation before it were to escalate," he said.
Many people just trying to find ways to find a little comfort in being prepared.
"Citizens are concerned about getting the proper training experience so they'd be able to protect themselves and their families," Galasso said.
His classes are taught from a defensive standpoint. Police never want anyone to take matters into their own hands, always call 911.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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