Child Home Alone During Attempted Burglary, Police Say

A Penn Valley boy was shaken but unharmed after Lower Merion Police say an apparent burglary attempt occurred while he was home alone last week.

According to police, on Friday at approximately 6:25 p.m., a child was left alone in a home on the 200 block of Righters Mill Road while his parents went out to run errands. While Lower Merion Police would not release the boy's age, they did indicate that he was not so young that it was unusual for him to have been left alone.

Shortly after the parents left, police say a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt began knocking on the door and yelling "Let me in." The child became scared and hid behind furniture, while the man began walking around the home and attempting to enter it through other windows and doors.

The child told police he scurried into another room and hid until he couldn't hear the man any longer, then ran to a neighbor's house and called 911. Police say the boy was so shaken by the event that it was difficult to get coherent testimony from him.

Nothing was missing from the home and police believe the would-be burglar was unable to enter it.

While Lower Merion Police arrested three men on Monday who they believe are responsible for at least two, and possibly more, burglaries in the area, it is unclear if any of the defendants are suspected in this case. Because those burglaries are still under investigation, police have not released photos of any of the defendants.