Rep. Brady's wife foils break-in attempt

Three men tried to break into U.S. Rep. Bob Brady's home Friday afternoon, but his wife scared them off, police said.

Shortly before noon, Debra Brady, who was alone at the time, heard someone knocking on her front door but was unable to immediately answer, said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives. When she got a chance to look outside, she saw a man walk to a car parked on another street, open the trunk, and put on a red baseball cap.

About 45 minutes later, the Bradys' Pekingese ran to the rear of the house and started barking, Walker said. Debra Brady went to check on the dog and saw the man in the red cap trying to open a back door. As she retreated with her dog, she saw the man attempting to open a sliding-glass door. She also noticed two other men sitting in lawn chairs in her backyard. The man with the cap was wearing a surgical mask.

Debra Brady banged on the sliding-glass door and all three men fled, Walker said.

"They did not make entry into the house," said Walker, who called the attempted burglary "clearly a random act."

The Philadelphia congressman said he planned to replace his burglar-alarm system, which did not function as he expected, and install surveillance cameras.

In what appeared to be an unrelated incident, a 53-year-old man was arrested after allegedly throwing a soda bottle through the window of Brady's South Philadelphia office shortly before 4 p.m. Friday. No one in the office was hurt.