ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WTVF) — An Antioch woman is asking her community to be vigilant after thieves stole $7,000 worth of paint machinery out of her fiance's work van.
The incident happened early Thursday morning in the Meadowood neighborhood on Chestnut Oak Drive.
"We didn't notice at first until we came back from the store and my daughter noticed at first that the window was broken. I've been seeing a lot of burglaries and robberies and all that. I never thought it was going to happen to us but it did," she said.
The mother of three said her fiance has left his van in front of their home locked for years but this time someone broke in and grabbed the expensive spray paint machines.
"Those three machines probably like $7,000. He's feeling kind of down it took him a long time to own his own stuff," she said.
The robbery has kept her up at night and fearful for the safety of her children.
"We work hard to provide for our family, our kids and it's just like it's kind of stressful and sad that some people may come and take your belongings and your stuff. Put your stuff inside your house if you can and be safe. Be safe and just be aware, you never know, it can happen to anyone," she said.
The woman, who has lived in her area for more than 10 years, does not believe anyone in her neighborhood is responsible for what happened.
"We all know each other in this corner right here and whenever we see something suspicious we call each other but this time nobody saw anything. And to those people who are stealing please stop doing this, you're hurting families. We're working hard for our stuff," she said.
The couple plans to install cameras around their home. They're waiting to see if their insurance company will help cover the stolen equipment. Anyone who may know what happened is asked to call Metro police.
