Rita Ora Spent $25K On This So She Could No Longer Live In ‘Constant Fear’

As Rita Ora’s star continues to grow, so do her security concerns. The singer was lucky to be alive after she narrowly avoided a fatal “drive-by shooting” in London last week, reports the Evening Standard. Rita has a lot to be thankful for after she survived a burglary.

The singer is putting strong measures in place. She reportedly stepped up her security at her London home following the burglary that happened two years ago. Ora is said to be suffering from anxiety and nightmares after the burglary that took place at her mansion in 2015, so she had a £20,000 ($25,000 U.S. dollars) panic room installed.

Rita is still left shaken and “mentally scarred” after burglar Charaf Elmoudden broke into her home while she and her sister, Elena Ora, were sleeping upstairs, reports the Sun. He was sentenced to prison for five years last June, but Rita is still haunted by the incident and has been having nightmares. She decided to install a state-of-the-art panic room and hired a team of “security specialists” in order to feel safer at home.

She also installed multiple security cameras, alarms, an electric gate, motion sensors, and a panic button near her bedroom.

“Rita is still incredibly shaken up, and continues to have horrendous nightmares about the burglary. Although the perpetrator is in prison, it has not eased her peace of mind and she has been living in almost constant fear that something similar would happen again,” a source told the Daily Mail.

“Because Rita is in the public eye, she remains a target for thieves so had a security team come in and completely overhaul her personal security. At the press of a button, a huge steel wall slides down from the ceiling blocking her off from any intruders. From here, she can call the police and would-be burglars cannot touch her. It was expensive, but you cannot put a price on safety.”

Rita and Elena Ora were asleep in the house along with their parents when the burglar broke in. He reportedly stole £200,000 ($250,000 U.S. dollars) worth of items, including jewelry, phones, computers, and a designer handbag.

During the trial, which took place last June, Harrow Crown Court heard the recording of a 999 phone call made by the Fifty Shades actress.

She was heard shouting at the intruder, “Don’t f***ing come up these stairs. I will f*** you up, you f***ing hear me?”

Rita was then heard speaking to the emergency services operator.

“I have just locked myself in my room, my sister saw him in my room. Can you just send them [police] right now? How long are you gonna be? Oh, my God, I don’t have a knife, I know they’re going to come upstairs.”

During the trial, Ora listened to the recording behind the curtain. She didn’t want to come face-to-face with the intruder who was in court with her. She couldn’t bear to listen to any more of the phone call, so she was asked to leave the court early.

“That phone call freaked me out a bit – give me a moment,” she was heard telling the judge.

This report comes after Rita’s rep denied that she’s good friends with a hit-and-run killer who burglarized Simon Cowell. She was said to be a close friend of Darren February and has dated his brother Tyrone when they were all teenagers. He was sent to jail for eight years after he stole jewelry worth upwards of £950,000 from Simon’s home while he and his wife, Lauren, and their baby Eric slept upstairs, reports the Sun.

Rita’s connection hits close to home since she grew up in the same Foreland House estate in North Kensington, which was just doors away from the February family.

[Featured image by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]