Mother Doesn’t Wait for Police

Fort Lauderdale, Florida — Police are looking for two men who attempted to break into a Fort Lauderdale home last Friday evening.

Kari Bookmeyer, the homeowner, told 7 News Miami she was at work when she received a phone call from her daughter at around 6 p.m. saying someone was banging on the front door of the home.

Thinking it was her mother knocking to be let in, the teenage girl went to the door. The doorbell video camera showed one young man knocking on the door of the home repeatedly while an accomplice moved off camera towards the backyard.

“She was hysterical, telling me, ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’” Bookmeyer told 7 News. “First there was banging on the door. Then the glass shattered.”

The mother kept her daughter on the phone while she used another cell phone to call police, then decided to act.

“I do have a concealed weapons permit, and I did tell the dispatcher I was going in my home,” she said. “They suggested to wait for police, but with my daughter inside, I really didn’t care.”

Kari left work immediately and went home beating officers there.

“I went inside, and I had my weapon drawn,” she said. “I told [my daughter] to lock herself back in the bathroom until we knew the house was cleared.”

Officers arrived a short time later and swept the home and the surrounding area but where unable to locate the suspects.

“They’re dirtbags is what they are,” William Bookmeyer told WPLG Local 10. “They’re the lowest form of life that’s going to come into a neighborhood and threaten your family. Makes you angry, you know, that people do that. If they want to break and take your stuff, but when you have your daughter in the house it’s a whole different game.”

Mr. Bookmeyer said that since it was so early in the evening, his daughter almost opened the door to the suspects.

“Who knows what could’ve happened if she would have opened the door and thank God she didn’t. She’s brave, smart, and I’m proud of her.”

Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS and may be eligible to receive a large cash reward.


Developing a home defense plan and going over the details with your family members could make the difference in a home invasion such as this one. Get the latest tactics and techniques for home defense with the Door Ambush training DVD and the Complete Home Defense – Tactics For Defending Your Castle.

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