Exclusive VIDEO: Sisters Hide In Bedroom During Terrifying San Francisco Home Invasion Robbery
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two San Francisco sisters huddled in a bedroom, terrified as a gang of home invasion robbers ransacked their Outer Mission/Ingleside neighborhood residence in a brazen daylight crime.
They relived those moments in an exclusive interview with KPIX 5's Betty Yu. Still fearing for their safety, the sisters asked that their names be withheld.
Security video shows a grey colored car belonging to the suspects backed into the victim's driveway on January 4. The robbers make their way to the front door and appear to use some sort of tool to break the iron gate.
All the while, two sisters were inside around 9:30 a.m.
"I heard thumping upstairs, but I thought it was just my mom coming in like maybe she forgot something," one of the sisters told KPIX 5. "So I went back to bed, but the thumping, things like moving around kept going for another 5 or so minutes and I thought it was weird. I was really suspicious already so I got my phone...I went upstairs and I called out like 'Mom, dad is that you?'"
When nobody answered, she said she woke her sister up and called 911.
"I hid in the closet, because I didn't know what to do, I was really scared," she said.
Meanwhile, her sister could now hear the robbers downstairs, outside the bedroom just feet away.
"'There's a whole 'nother place down here,'" said the other sister, referring to one robber's conversation. "He was yelling at someone else and they just started knocking down the door."
The sisters shared a photo of the damage to the bedroom door -- it was nearly ripped in half. When one of them screamed, it scared off the suspects, who left with cash, jewelry, handbags, and sentimental items.
They hopped in a waiting getaway car and sped off.
"I thought they would hurt us. I thought if anything I could distract them for a second and my sister could get away, or I would run past them or something but I don't know -- a million things went through my head. It was just like panic," said the sister who stood closest to the bedroom door.
The family said police believe they were targeted.
"The police told us, and mom too, she said 'Why did this happen to us, we don't even look like much,' and they told us they target Asian households. They look for Asian families," said one sister.
The family has since added a number of security measures including reinforcements to the front door.
The sisters also added that their pets first alerted them to the intruders -- their cat made unusual noises and their dog started barking immediately.
KPIX 5 has reached out to SFPD regarding this case.
