Chilling doorbell video shows trio in Halloween costumes outside home, shouting threats.

Police in Virginia are investigating an apparent attempted break-in after a video showed a trio of people dressed in scary costumes terrorizing a frightened family.

The alarming incident, which was captured on a home's Ring surveillance camera, took place Tuesday, Oct. 14 in Alexandria, a city just south of Washington, DC.

Alexandria Police Department Public Information Officer Rebekka Heite said the agency is searching for three suspects in connection with the creepy case captured in viral footage circulating online.

As of on Friday, Oct. 17, Heite said no arrests had been made related to the incident, which was reported about 9:50 p.m. local time on Oct. 14.

During a press conference after the incident Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire told reporters police believe the trio was trying to break in to the home.

“I want to be very clear, this is a very serious matter,” McGuire said.

“They began to act as if they were engaging in a prank," the police chief said. "That prank that was alleged to have happened later turned serious as they began to make threatening and alarming comments to the family. People who are in their residences, according to our laws and laws across our nation, can defend themselves."

Shayla Whiteside, who lives in the home, told Storyful she thought it was a prank at first.

But things changed fast.

“They tried forcing the front door open, jiggled the handles, broke down my backyard fence, and tore through the back screen, screaming threats, saying that they will kill us and that they were coming back,” she told Storyful.

Whiteside told Storyful the trio of attempted burglars appeared to be strangers.

'It's either you come out or we come in'

Footage shows the frightening episode began when one of the masked individuals rang the front doorbell.

Video shows the trio standing ominously in the front yard before taking turns ringing the bell, knocking on the door and, at one point, jiggling its handle.

“It’s either you come out or we come in,” one of the masked men says in the video as the trio continue to demand the family open the door.

When someone in the video asks who they are, one person responds, "Your worst nightmare."

Another masked suspect then says, "I see you... open the door."

In the end, the video shows the attempted burglars walk away. One is heard saying, "We'll be back."

No one was injured in the incident.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Alexandria police at 703-746-4444.

Masked attempted burglars mimic 2008 horror movie

The trio's actions in the video are similar to those portrayed by three actors in the 2008 horror film, "The Strangers."

In the movie, three masked individuals terrorize a couple, James Hoyt and Kristen McKay, played by actors Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, inside a home.

"The Strangers – Chapter 2," the second installment in a trilogy reboot of the original film, was released on Sept. 16, 2025.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'You come out or we come in.' Masked trio threatens homeowners in horrifying video

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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