CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami Heat guard Ray Allen and his wife, Shannon Allen, released a statement Friday night to Local 10 after a recent early morning break-in.
Related: Group of young adults break into Ray Allen's home
"We want to correct the erroneous information being reported about the crime committed in our home this week. On Thursday morning at 2:30 a.m., my wife, Shannon, was awakened by loud voices in our bedroom where she had been sleeping with our four young children," Allen said in the statement. "She heard male voices loudly discussing our personal property and sat up in a state of alarm to find at least five people inside our bedroom with large flashlights.
"She was immediately fearful for the safety of her own life, but more importantly the lives of our young children. When she screamed at them, the intruders quickly fled the scene and laughter was heard as they made their way out of our bedroom, down the stairs and out of our house."
As the individuals fled from their home, Allen said Shannon called security and police for help.
"Shannon and I believe that a number of the public statements made through media outlets have mischaracterized certain important facts and what we believe to be the seriousness of this potentially devastating invasion upon our lives, home and family," Allen said. "The suggestion that anyone can unlawfully enter into someone's locked home and then into an occupied bedroom in the middle of the night without consequences is unsettling, regardless of the stated or actual reason for such unlawful entry.
"We are very fortunate that no one involved was physically harmed during this ordeal. Miami is our home and we are proud to be active members in this community. We pray that no one else has to endure this kind of intrusion on their home or their families' safety. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own homes."
Allen said he and his wife have hired attorney Gregory Victor for representation in the incident.
"A serious crime was committed under Florida law. A large number of young adults knowingly broke into Mr. and Mrs. Allen's locked home on Thursday at 2:30 a.m. and absolutely terrified their family," Victor said in the statement to Local 10 News. "The crime was not only egregious, but the police characterization of this as a silly prank is completely inappropriate. Every family deserves privacy and to feel safe in their own home. This violation of the Allen family was offensive. The reported intentions of these perpetrators as being simply voyeuristic in nature does not justify their conduct nor excuse them from the reasonable consequences of their reprehensible actions.
"We plan to meet with authorities promptly in order to seek the appropriate intervention of the criminal justice system and discuss the specific actions to be taken so that such unlawful conduct is not ignored and tolerated."