Five armed criminals break into home in Santa Cruz and two children confront them
A group of five armed criminals entered a house in the Valparaíso neighbourhood of Santa Cruz when only two minors were inside. The children's screams alerted neighbours and the thieves fled without stealing anything.
Twelve-year-old children confront armed robbers in their home in Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Five armed criminals broke into a property in the Valparaíso neighbourhood, near the dual carriageway La Guardia in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, when only two minors were inside the house. According to El Deber, the children's screams alerted neighbours and forced the criminals to flee without completing the robbery.
The group arrived at the property in a red Kia vehicle. Four of them, their faces covered, got out of the car and entered the building; the fifth remained at the wheel. Unable to access through the main doors, they used a ladder that they were carrying in the vehicle to climb over the fence and get into the property.
The parents were not at home. Inside were a 12-year-old boy and his younger sister. Once inside, the criminals threatened the minors with firearms. The boy tried to defend himself and struggled with the intruders, who hit him twice on the head with a gun.
"The neighbours saw everything. I have already given the recordings to the Felcc. They struggled with my children inside. They hit my son twice with a firearm. There were four people (who entered the property), with the driver there were five people," the father said.
Whilst his brother confronted the criminals, the girl managed to get to safety: she went to her parents' bedroom and locked herself in. The screams of both minors mobilised the neighbours, who came out of their homes, which precipitated the criminals' flight in the same red vehicle.
The two minors are stable and the incident did not result in more serious consequences. However, the father expressed his concern about the fear the episode left in his children and lamented the lack of police protection in the area, so he demanded greater security for the residents of the neighbourhood.
Prosecutor Edson Romero reported that the investigation is ongoing and that security camera images will be analysed, not only from the time of the attempted robbery but also from previous days, in order to determine whether the occupants of the property were subject to prior surveillance.
Romero also indicated that, according to the initial evidence gathered, for now the possibility that the perpetrators are of foreign origin is ruled out. The four men who entered the property have not yet been identified, given that they acted with their faces covered. The Prosecutor's Office and the Special Force to Combat Crime (Felcc) are continuing investigations to establish the identity of those responsible and locate them.
Source: El Deber