Granny starts neighborhood 'Glock block' to deal with crime
MILWAUKIE, Ore. (KPTV) -- A 65-year-old grandmother is starting a neighborhood "Glock block" and posting signs that bluntly tell any criminals: "We don't call 911."
Coy Tolonen, 65, said she simply had enough when she looked out the window of her home last week and saw a man stealing a bronze statue right out of her front yard.
"He didn't just come to my yard and steal a statue. He tried to get into my front door and that alarms me," Tolonen said.
Tolonen's husband gave her the statue after her mother passed away, she said. Tolonen tried to chase after the man who stole it, but he got away, she said. Tolonen then called deputies for help, but she feels like little has been done to try to get her statue back.
"I hate losing it," Tolonen said. "But it alarms me. It (the statue) could have been a child."
Tolonen has a gun and is now in the process of getting her concealed handgun license, she said.
It's a move several of her neighbors have already taken, she added. They're also posting signs that read "Glock block. We don't call 911." They hope their actions will get criminals to think twice about striking their neighborhood again.
"We are a tight-knit neighborhood, and we are armed," Tolonen said. "And we won't tolerate this nonsense. Because if it doesn't stop, they're going to find someone at home."
She has always been told to respect life, respect the law, and respect guns, she said. But she's not afraid to take matters into her own hands in an effort to protect her property, she added.
"They tell you, 'Oh, flee.'" Tolonen said. "Well, a lot of times you can't flee. And why should you flee? It's your home."
A spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said officials are concerned about the signs and people rushing out to obtain guns. The sheriff's office does not support any kind of vigilante behavior, he said.