MASON CITY – Hoodied, masked youths descended upon this quiet Mason City neighborhood in the dead of the night, rappin’ on doors then tuckin’ tail and runnin’ away like scared little varmints, and residents “freaked out” and scrambled for police to intervene.
Mason City police records indicate that a call for help was made on the evening of December 30, 2024. At 9:10 PM, cops raced to the 400 block of 1st Street NE as a “freaked out” woman begged for protection from unknown trespassers in her yard and banging on her door.
“This incident occurred on Monday night and it was suggested to share it here,” said Mason City home owner , Sarah MacNeil. “If you happen to recognize these individuals, it may be important to have a conversation with them about their actions. This type of behavior can be dangerous when kids play pranks on people they don’t know. Especially when they’re adult sized and covering their faces like they intend harm.
“I called the police that night because it freaked me out when they pounded on the door the first time (especially when I pulled up the video) and then when they circled back to do it a second time I was definitely not happy,” MacNeil explained.
Mason City Chief of Police Jeff Brinkley confirmed the incident, telling NIT, “I was able to find this CFS in our records. We responded there at 9:10 PM on December 30. The responding officer was unable to locate the kids when they arrived. We did put the address on a special attention request.”
Video shared by MacNeil showed at least three culprits on or near her property.
“However the cops didn’t want to see the video and didn’t do anything other than a drive down my street to ‘see if they spot them’ … you never know who might escalate the situation,” MacNeil continued.
“To the best of my knowledge, we haven’t had any other similar calls in the area,” Chief Brinkley elaborated.
If you recognize the persons in these photos, call the Mason City police department.
(PHOTOS via video posted publicly by resident Sarah MacNeil.)