Unsettling Home Invasion in Redlands Leaves Family and Neighbors on High Alert
A family in San Bernardino County is still shaken and perplexed after experiencing a horrifying home invasion over the weekend. The break-in occurred just after midnight on Sunday in the 700 block of Concord Lane in Redlands.
Stanley Trammel told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that the four to five masked guys who kicked in a back door and activated the family’s house alarm system did not appear to care if anyone was there.
According to Trammel, the lights in the house were turned on while his wife was downstairs watching television. The couple’s 21-year-old son was sleeping upstairs, and so was he.
“She told me that she heard a loud boom and then a second one because the door didn’t open the first time they kicked it,” he said. “Then this guy came in and she screamed.”
Trammel claims that the men, who were all clothed in black, pulled his kid out of bed while he was attempting to fend off one of the intruders with his cane while the man aimed his gun at him.
As his wife rushed to avoid the suspects, she slipped and banged her head.
The terrifying encounter, according to Trammel, lasted barely five to seven minutes, and the suspects never spoke to him during the invasion.
It’s unknown what the burglars were looking for or why the family’s home was targeted, but Trammel believes there’s another perplexing part of the terrifying encounter.
“We think that they were looking in the bedrooms, which are all upstairs,” he stated. “No one made any demands, such as ‘give us your jewels’ or ‘give us your money.’ They took nothing. I’m more perplexed than anything else since we don’t understand why.”
A neighbor’s CCTV cameras captured the moment police arrived after the criminals escaped. Officers from the Redlands Police Department established a perimeter and scoured the area, but found nothing.
Some residents on the peaceful street say they are now on edge and are considering expanding their existing security systems.
“These are things that we just don’t expect to happen, and we hope never to happen, but when it happens right in front of your house, that is way too close for comfort,” Beatrice Martins, a neighbor, told KTLA. “That is what, frankly, has made us reconsider all of our safety protocols around the house.” Trammel’s wife was brought to the hospital and later released while healing from the fall and damage to her skull.
Police have yet to disclose suspect descriptions or make any arrests. Anyone with information on the event should call the Redlands Police Department.