4 Year Old Breaks Into Store to Play w/Toys

[Principessa]

Boy, 4, breaks into Texas toy store
Child got out of his home, then crossed a multilane street to reach store


BEAUMONT, Texas - Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found a toddler inside, playing with the toys. Police said store surveillance video showed the unidentified boy trying to open one of the front doors to a Family Dollar store about 3 a.m. Monday, only to find it locked. But the second door was unlocked and the child went inside.

That triggered the silent alarm.

Detective Randy Stevens said the child apparently unlocked a door at his nearby home, got out, then crossed a multilane street to reach the store.
A canvass of the neighborhood turned up a family member searching for the child.

CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam said Child Protective Services claimed oversight of a 4-year-old boy during a review of the incident. The boy will be allowed to stay with other relatives, not the parents, during the CPS review period.

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This little tyke was obviously smart and a handful even in daylight hours. I'm surprised the main door of the house didn't have a chain about 18" -24" higher than the door knob, or a deadbolt. Deadbolts are usually harder to turn.

Unless the parents were asleep due to a drug overdose or too much alcohol consumption, I'm not sure they were negligent.

 

[pym]

I was a scamp at that age too. I pulled up a nieghbors whole tulip bed at that age to give my Ma. :biggrin1:

 

[B_Think_Kink]

Cool, that kid is really smart, but the people who own the store are more stupid for leaving the door open. Then again, had he not gotten in, he might have tried to cross the street again, or gotten into worse trouble.

 

[jakeatolla]

And just what was a 4 year old doing outside at 3 am ??????

 

[Deno]

Not really a break in like the title says, what are they not going to charge him as an adult? Joking of course!

 

[StrictlyAvg]

And just what was a 4 year old doing outside at 3 am ??????

If you read the story in the OP I think it explains it quite succinctly and well...

 

[StrictlyAvg]

Cool, that kid is really smart, but the people who own the store are more stupid for leaving the door open. Then again, had he not gotten in, he might have tried to cross the street again, or gotten into worse trouble.

Do you never forget to lock your door then?

There ARE still places in the world you could get so out of the mindset that leaving the door open was likely to result in a robbery or vandalism that locking up ceases to become a particular bother. Though few in America I suspect, or the UK come to that - Canada probably has more though surely? Theres a lotta remote places in Canada.

In S.Germany I could leave a motorbike on the street of the fairly large town I was living without a 5kg chain and padlock, safe in the knowledge it would still be there over the few weeks I was working out there. In some of Europe, particularly bigger cities, it would have lasted mere minutes before it went missing! I read an article about a state in Australia that will actually slap a fine on you, the legal owner for failing to secure your bike properly, so rife are their local thieves - WTF? Go catch some crooks already people?

I don't live in cloud cuckoo land and always play safe - but then try and use local knowledge to make a judgment about a place before deciding about the honesty or not of the local citizenry.
The point I'm making is it's a bit weird that someone who gets robbed is "stupid" when it's the ne'er do wells who should have to attract the negative monikers....

 

[yhtang]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28241264/print/1/displaymode/1098/
BEAUMONT, Texas - Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found a toddler inside, playing with the toys.

<snipped>

CPS spokeswoman Shari Pulliam said Child Protective Services claimed oversight of a 4-year-old boy during a review of the incident. The boy will be allowed to stay with other relatives, not the parents, during the CPS review period.

Is there something wrong with the boy or the report? When had a 4 year old been a toddler?