Ring camera alert nearly kills a woman

Updated on: 25 October 2022

Anna Zhadan
Contributor

ring picture — Image by BrandonKleinPhoto / Shutterstock

Two men are arrested after shooting a woman in her car seven times. The reason? A Ring doorbell camera alert.

On Saturday morning, two Florida residents – Gino (73) and Rocky (15) Colonacostas – received a Ring doorbell camera alert. This prompted them to pick up .45-caliber handguns and go after the alleged intruder.

What they didn’t know was that the intruder never existed. Their neighbor received a wrong delivery package with prescription medication supposedly belonging to Gino. He went back to the family’s apartment and dropped it off at their front door, which activated the alert.

In their search for the burglar, Gino and Rocky stumbled upon a woman in her car and fired at her seven times as she tried to drive away. Their victim nearly escaped death.

Sheriff Grady Judd called the event some of the “craziest stuff” he’s seen in a while.

Although both men are now charged with attempted murder and other assaults, the incident gave rise to the broader conversation surrounding the use of doorbell cameras. Pundits are already worried that the widespread adoption of Ring has given rise to racialized digital surveillance in American neighborhoods.

“Marketed as an essential home and neighborhood security tool, doorbell cameras are now a ubiquitous feature across the United States,” the report suggested.

Being bombarded with security alerts from the “Nearby Incidents” feed can feel overwhelming, with Max Read writing:

“I’ve never once felt scared or unsafe in my apartment, or even in my neighborhood in general. And yet, for a nanosecond, staring at the alerts on my phone, I was seized with panic.”

To some, this is yet another reason for abandoning Ring cameras altogether.

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The controversy surrounding Ring seems to build up: as such, Neighbors – Ring’s free, app-based neighborhood watch feature – has come under the spotlight for allowing to “spy” on your neighbors, which includes both “good deeds” and “suspicious activity.”

Security versus excessive surveillance has long been a point of contention. Yet perhaps, Ring feeds into social issues as much as security issues, giving its users additional reasons to opt for physical protection first.