Neighbors in Hillcrest and Mission Hills are breathing a sigh of relief now that a man seen prowling the neighborhood this weekend is off the streets, at least temporarily.
Others told NBC 7 that they saw the same person looking into cars and checking if doors were unlocked.
"There was a guy out here. I noticed he was kind of loitering around, and he started approaching the back gate to our complex, and I looked out my side window, and I saw him trying to open the gate, and he kind of looked up and was grabbing hold of the fence and was going to climb it," one neighbor who only wants to go by Kat due to safety concerns told NBC 7.
Some neighbors told NBC 7 they called 911 to report the suspicious behavior.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“When the police came, I watched from my window. They talked to him and told him to leave. The guy walked that way, and the cops waited until he turned the corner, and then the cops took off. As soon as the cops turned out of the alley, the guy popped right back out,” Kat said.
Besides calling first responders, people in the community said they posted what they experienced in online forums.
“I would like for them to arrest him. I’ve sent information to Get It Done, San Diego’s Get It Done app. I’ve called the police about it. I’ve posted it on forums just to get people aware of it,” Kat said.
Local
Kat says multiple people have seen a suspicious person walking around, and one of those people approached an NBC 7 crew.
“Friday night, around 10:40 p.m., my dog was barking, and my Ring notification showed someone at the door, and it wasn’t someone that I knew, and I immediately panicked because he had gloves, a hoodie, a red bandana over his face and then what looked like an ax,” a neighbor that only wished to be identified as Nicole said.
When NBC 7 reached out to find out if the man was suspected of any crimes, San Diego police told NBC 7 the man was "contacted, detained and is receiving resources."
It is unclear if he is still detained or if he has been released.
The community breathes a sigh of relief
People in those communities say this seems like a positive ending to what was a scary situation.
"Oh my gosh, that’s such great news. I’ll be able to sleep tonight," said neighbor Kat.
She didn't want her face shown — but her story is compelling.
"There have been several of us that haven’t been able to sleep at night," Kat said.
"I am very happy and I will sleep better tonight. I was uneasy all weekend," Nicole said.
After this situation, Nicole says she is making security upgrades to her home.
"All I had was a Ring doorbell camera and that’s what I caught him on and I can’t see down the walkway, so now I have cameras that point to my walkway and my back gate and then I bought another camera today for my backyard," Nicole said.
The prowler may be off the streets but Kat isn’t letting her guard down.
"Will you still remain vigilant?" NBC 7's Kelvin Henry asked Kat.
"Very – very. It’s almost like I’m sitting at the edge of my seat, nail-biting," Kat said.
