They Prepped for Doomsday, Got Foiled by Burglars

A Cleveland couple was ready for the apocalypse—but apparently not for thieves. Teena Brayen says burglars broke into her home early Tuesday while her family was sleeping and made off with five shotguns, a high-powered rifle, a pellet gun, $1,000 worth of ammunition, 12 machetes, smoke grenades, a bulletproof vest, and food rations, reports ABC5. Brayen and her husband are members of militia group Three Percenters—a name based on the claim that just 3% of the US population fought in the American Revolution, per the Washington Post—and hoped to use the supplies to protect and provide for themselves in the event of catastrophe, or perhaps invasion by another country, Brayen tells Fox 8.

Brayen, who believes thieves saw the family moving weapons into their Cleveland home when they moved from New York a month ago, says she fears for "military personnel, especially, and our police officers" as one of the weapons taken "looks like a sniper rifle" and can pierce bulletproof vests and even cars. "They're ready for a war," she says of the thieves. "We were war-ready." Brayen adds she believed the weapons and gear were secure when she went to sleep on Monday night, but now suspects one of her two children left a door to the home unlocked. "I don't want to see anybody get hurt by what people took out of my home," she says. Police are investigating, reports the AP. (More Ohio stories.)