A Maryland woman is shaken after a man broke into her apartment right in front of her — and the incident was caught on video.
Hannah Viverette says she likes to dance and meditate, and her phone is typically set up to record while doing so.
“A lot of times, I like to record my movements,” Viverette told FOX 5 DC. “It’s my meditation.”
While recording herself about 10:15 p.m. Nov. 22 in her Hagerstown, Maryland, apartment, Viverette, 25, captured a man attempting to come into her second-floor unit.
“Originally when he first made entry he was smiling at me and he was just muttering,” Viverette said.
“My whole world stopped,” she told BuzzFeed. “I was prepared for him to pull something out of his pockets because he would not take his hands out of his pockets as he was staring at me and mumbling things that I couldn’t understand.”
“When he first opened the door, I was prepared, for a few moments, to die,” Viverette told NBC Washington.
With the video still recording, and visibly shaken, Viverette yelled at the man to leave. He can be heard asking if he can come in as she yells, “No!”
“I had seen him before, and it took me about three seconds to put it all together that this is the man that’s out in his truck, that watches me from my balcony, that’s made advances at me, and in that moment, I just knew that it wasn’t going to be good,” Viverette said.
Viverette grabbed her phone while the video was recording and moved toward her front door. She stood in the doorway and kept telling the man to leave, lifting the camera to capture his face as he appeared to back out of the apartment.
She then knocked on a neighbor’s door and asked to come in. She called the police and shared the video with them.
BuzzFeed reported that Viverette initially posted the video on Facebook and Instagram so her friends and family knew what happened. She posted it on TikTok on a whim a couple of days later, where it gained traction.
NBC Washington reported police questioned and arrested Angel Moises Rodriguez-Gomez, 36, on Nov. 24 on charges of stalking, third-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property.
Viverette told FOX 5 DC she noticed there were strands of Christmas lights missing from her balcony.
Rodriguez-Gomez lives near Viverette, NBC Washington reported. Police said he was released on unsecured bond.
“The only thing law enforcement has been able to tell me is that a lot of it has to do with not wanting to house him due to COVID,” Viverette told FOX 5 DC. “I just really don’t think it’s fair that he’s walking freely right now. And I have to watch my back at every angle.”
Since the incident, Viverette has posted another TikTok video of her dancing in her apartment. A bat can be seen nearby. She said she isn’t sleeping at her place and is currently in therapy. She said she will keep dancing and she’s received an outpouring of support from women who have gone through similar situations.
“He’s not going to take that away from me, absolutely not,” said Viverette. “I’m not going to live in fear.”
A lawyer in Texas has seen the video and has offered free services.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Viverette to raise money for her to find a new place to live. More than $2,000 has been raised toward its $3,5000 goal.
About the Author
