Runner’s unsettling behavior caught on camera sparks fierce online backlash—what really happened?
So here we are, smack dab in the spookiest month of the year—when it’s totally normal to let your creepy, kooky, and bizarre side roam wild. But have you ever wondered… what kind of person actually stops mid-jog just to throw a punch at some innocent Halloween witches on a front lawn? Yeah, me neither—until now. Tonyia Sampognaro from California painstakingly crafted a charming little trio of witch decorations to jazz up her neighborhood’s Halloween vibe, only to have them repeatedly socked by a jogger who clearly mistook them for sparring partners. And guess what? This wasn’t some blurry ghost tale; her Ring doorbell camera caught every awkward, creepy jab on tape. Honestly, it makes you question: if you’re going to channel Halloween mischief, shouldn’t it at least be a little bit creative rather than just, I dunno… punching witches? The community’s not having it, and neither should you. LEARN MORE
People are outraged at a runner after she did something seriously ‘creepy’ to someone’s Halloween decorations, not realising the whole thing was caught on a doorbell camera.
It’s that month of the year where people have licence to indulge their spooky side, and some folks put a lot of effort into their Halloween celebrations.
Tonyia Sampognaro, from California, had set her decorations outside her house, including a trio of witch figures standing on her front lawn, which seems very in the spirit of Halloween.
However, the witches came under attack from a jogger who had run past Tonyia’s house and then doubled back and hit one of the witches in the face, knocking it to the ground before running away.
The woman then decided to come back again and punch the other witches, and it wasn’t the only time she did it, either.
She punched the decorations over multiple times (Ring/Tonyia Sampognaro)
A few days earlier, Tonyia’s Ring doorbell had spotted what appeared to be the same woman jogging past her house, with footage showing her practising a few punches on the path before stopping outside the house and looking at the witches.
While initially appearing to run off on her route, the woman soon afterwards came back and punched one of the witches in the face, and when that first blow wasn’t enough to knock the inanimate object to the ground, she threw her hands at it again.
She then threw another punch at the second witch decoration before hitting the third one until it too fell over, then turned on her heel and ran away in essentially the same attack she would carry out a few days later.
Tonyia told LADbible she’d found the footage of her Halloween witches being punched to the ground ‘disheartening’, especially when she’d gone to the effort of putting them up and just wanted a nice display for her neighbourhood.
She said: “I personally create each witch in my Halloween display, and it was disheartening to see someone deliberately damage something meant to bring joy to the neighbourhood.”
Watch the video:
Tonyia continued to say that ‘thanks to my security footage and the support of our community’, the woman has been identified.
“Halloween should inspire creativity, fun, and togetherness – not vandalism – and I hope this serves as a reminder that our community stands united in keeping our neighbourhood safe and respectful,” she added.
The mysterious decoration puncher attracted criticism from people who saw the doorbell footage after it went viral, as they said ‘she needs help’ and chastised her for ‘letting her intrusive thoughts win’.
Others pointed out that the runner was ‘stepping onto private property’ to attack someone’s possessions, which isn’t a good idea; meanwhile, some fantasised about catching the runner by dressing up as one of the decorations and surprising her if she tried it again.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s probably best not to go punching other people’s Halloween decorations.
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