Philadelphia police have opened an investigation after a masked man was captured on video wandering across the rooftop deck of a South Philadelphia home in the early morning hours, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
The incident occurred late Friday night into Saturday morning, when a homeowner reviewing footage from a trail camera discovered an unidentified individual walking across her roof.
The video, obtained by WPVI, showed the man moving cautiously across the deck, appearing to examine parts of the property.
South Philadelphia neighbors alarmed after masked man seen on roofs overnighthttps://t.co/bb2Xj5MUxI [2]
— Miss T (@tlc6767) April 15, 2026 [3]
“I checked it and saw that at 2 in the morning Friday night going into Saturday morning, there was some guy on my roof, on my roof deck,” the homeowner told the outlet.
According to the footage, the man tiptoed around patio furniture on the rooftop before moving behind a wall and appearing to inspect sections of the building.
The homeowner said she did not recognize the individual and was uncertain about his intentions.
“I definitely don’t recognize the guy. Don’t know what he was doing up there. He was poking around. It looked like he might have been checking the window or something,” she told WPHL.
A neighbor, Bill Fitch, reported seeing the same individual around the same time. Fitch said he initially noticed the man on the roof and made eye contact with him, but did not immediately suspect anything unusual.
“He looked down at me, and I thought maybe it’s just a guy on a roof in the middle of the night,” Fitch said. “I don’t know, I gave him the benefit of the doubt for no reason.”
Fitch later observed the man again and noticed details that raised concern. He said the individual appeared to be wearing a ski mask and carrying a flashlight while moving across rooftops.
“I saw him clearly with a ski mask on up on the roofs, with a flashlight, looking to like gain entry into stuff. Like he was checking windows,” Fitch said.
Fitch contacted 911, but the suspect had already left the area before officers arrived, according to local reports.
Investigators believe the man may have accessed the rooftop by bypassing a broken gate near an alleyway that had been intended to block entry. Authorities are treating the incident as a potential case of criminal trespassing.
The encounter has left residents unsettled. Fitch said the incident has led him to take additional precautions at home.
“I feel like he’s gonna come back. I feel paranoid, really,” he told WPVI.
“We’re locking the doors. We’re double-checking things. We’re putting bikes in front of doors and things so that if someone were to get in, they’d have to knock stuff over.”
The homeowner who captured the footage said she has since placed a “No Trespassing” sign on the rooftop in an effort to deter anyone from attempting to access the property again.
Philadelphia police continue to investigate and have not identified a suspect.