A quick-thinking woman hid in a closet and was able to make a terrifying 911 call for help, leading to the rescue of five victims, police in Southern California said.
The ordeal began shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday when dispatchers received a whispered 911 call from a woman on the 8900 block of Pebble Beach Circle in Westminster, a city in Orange County. When officers arrived a few minutes later, Westminster police say four male suspects, all in masks and armed with guns, raced out the home. Inside, police say they found four people, an older woman, a 14-year-old boy, a seven-year-old girl and an adult man, bound with restraints in the living room. The woman who had made the call for help was hiding inside a closet.
Police say the four suspects forced their way into the home by threatening the family with guns. One of them “pushed the adult male victim to the ground and used a stun gun to gain compliance,” Westminster police said in a statement. The suspects then allegedly began demanding “to know where the valuables were kept.”
According to Westminster police, officers arrived on the scene three minutes after receiving the 911 call. They apprehended one suspect, who allegedly tried to toss a loaded 9mm handgun over a wall near the home, while the other three suspects fled. Those suspects are still on the run.