January 9, 2022
SAN FRANCISCO, California—Two terrified Asian-American sisters huddled in their upstairs bedroom as a gang of African-American males busted down their door and ransacked the house at 9:30 a.m., reports KPIX5.
Security footage captured a grey Infiniti Q50 backing into the victim’s driveway on January 4. The robbers can be seen making their way to the front door and using some kind of tool to break the iron gate.
“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 no one answered, 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.
Her sister could now hear the robbers downstairs, outside the bedroom.
“‘There’s a whole ‘nother place down here,’” said the other sister, referring to one robber’s conversation in ebonics. “He was yelling at someone else and they just started knocking down the door.”
The sisters shared a photo of the damaged bedroom door to KPIX5’s Betty Yu—it was nearly ripped in half. When one of them screamed, it scared the suspects off, who left with cash, jewelry, handbags, and sentimental items.
“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 told KPIX5, the police believe they were targeted. African-Americans often target the Asian-American community.
“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. However, it’s unclear if the family decided to purchase a firearm, which would have allowed multiple suspects to take the room temperature challenge that day.
Feature Screenshots via KPIX5