DELTONA, Fla. – A homeowner walked outside recently to see his 8-year-old daughter's all-terrain vehicle moved and its strap cut in two.
"The back of the four-wheeler was slid out, like (whomever was responsible) attempted to pull it off the trailer," the homeowner said Monday.
Surveillance video shows two men in hooded sweatshirts walking up to a driveway at a home on Boxelder Street in the middle of the night. At first, they tried to loosen the strap on the ATV. Then they came back with a knife.
"(We) noticed the strap was cut, went back to review the cameras and sure enough, around 3 a.m., (we) saw the two suspects," the homeowner said.
But the two men ran into a steel cable holding down the bike that they couldn't cut through. That's when they gave up and left, the homeowner told News 6.
A similar incident happened just 4 miles away, later that same day, on Sable Avenue.
At that home, a father was shot in front of his two sons and nephew trying to get away from two men they said were trying to steal their ATV.
"(It’s) coincidental that within 24 hours, that two other people were attempting to steal a four-wheeler and the shooting happened," the father said.
He posted the video on Facebook to warn others.
"You feel (kind of) violated that somebody is messing with your things when you’re sleeping,” the man said. “Whether or not it was the same people, maybe they talk and they know each other."
On Monday night, the Deltona families wondered if the cases were connected. So far, detectives said they’re looking into that possibility.
"If this case or my video can help in that situation, that's why I posted it -- to make people aware," the father said.
Anyone with information on either case is asked to call the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.