Watch Dramatic Moment Single Dad Stops 'Home Invasion Attempt'

A single dad has shared the terrifying home security footage he captured when five people showed up to his house in the middle of the night to allegedly attempt a home invasion.

John Duhigg, from Mesa, Arizona, was alerted to unusual movements outside his home at 3 a.m. on September 2. He told Newsweek that he was "very surprised and startled" to see a man moving towards his door camera in order to cover it up and obstruct Duhigg's view.

The 60-year-old has two children with special needs, who he says are his "only valuables" in the home. He immediately went into protection mode by arming himself and going outside to make his presence known during the "home invasion attempt."

"I switched to my security camera's live footage where I saw four men—three lining up along my outside garage door and one by my front security gate. They were talking with each other about 'getting ready,'" Duhigg told Newsweek.

"I grabbed my shotgun and headed out to stop them. My house is set up so there is a courtyard in front of the entrance, and diagonally in front of that is a large, locked steel security gate," he said.

"I went out my front door and looked around the corner towards the security gate. As I did, the man in front of me started banging on the gate."

Before the alleged intruders spotted Duhigg, he claims "they all ran away," only to return 10 minutes later and do the same thing. On their second visit, the dad-of-two went outside to "greet them" with his shotgun, and he soon "heard them running away again."

The incidents were reported to 911 and the security footage was handed over to the local police as evidence.

The state of Arizona saw 234,823 crimes reported in 2022, down 10 percent from the previous year, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety. There were also 17,977 cases of burglary throughout the year, 56 percent of which were on residential properties. The most common type of property offense was larceny, with more than 103,000 cases reported.

Duhigg was contemplating why this would happen to his home, saying that "nobody does this unless they want to hurt you."

After speaking with his 20-year-old son, he discovered that he was the victim of online bullying due to his autism. The bullies had apparently threatened to "get" him.

"It made no sense that my home was targeted. So, while I was talking to the police, I went and woke my son up and asked him if he had made anyone angry that might come and try to hurt us," Duhigg told Newsweek.

"I had him look at the video and listen to their voices. As he did, he told me they were a group that had been bullying him online for a month or so for having autism and being Latino. Earlier that day, they told him they were going to come to my house and 'get' us."

This was the first time Duhigg was subject to anything like this, and it left him "afraid and angry." He shared the security footage on his TikTok account (@wrench480), where it amassed over 2.4 million views in a matter of days.

Many horrified social media users praised his bravery in handling the "attempted home invasion," and the viral TikTok post has received over 182,000 likes already.

Among the 3,000 comments, TikTok user @kaylalyn92 wrote: "such a good dad. Guard [your] house with everything."

Another comment, posted by @clairemorgan24812 reads: "why would anyone try do that to you and your beautiful family...I'm so glad [you're] all safe, you really are super man."

Newsweek has reached out to the Mesa Police Department for comment.

Do you have any home security videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.