Robbers have hit three homes in two days in the Central Valley. In this case, they broke into a home on Hayes and Belmont early Wednesday morning.
The crooks used a battering ram to get into the house. They all came in with guns, but even though the victims had no weapons, the suspects ran away scared.
A broken door jamb and a dent in the wall show the force robbers used to get into this home.
"They broke in and you heard all the crashing and they just said, 'It's LAPD,'" said the 17-year-old girl who was home at the time of the attack.
She said five armed men burst into the home and held the family hostage. They ransacked the place, turning furniture inside out, even checking inside an oatmeal container.
Meanwhile, she hid in her room, grabbed her cell phone, and called her brother next door with a whisper.
"She told me there are some guys out here with guns," said Giovanni Airoso.
He ran to the rescue, armed with nothing but some pieces of metal and adrenaline.
"At first, I was just so angry and the adrenaline was just so pumped up," he said. "I knew it was for real when I opened that garage door and saw those guys. I didn't even react. I just threw whatever I could at them to scare them."
Immediately after his brash move, Airoso ran away and called police. That's when he saw the suspect's white Ford pickup truck speed away.
He ran back inside only to be chased out again by one remaining suspect, who was armed with a shotgun. When that man also left, he had time to reflect on his decision.
"I almost could've gotten shot," said Airoso. "People say it's kind of dumb going in there without a gun, but hey dude, when it's your family, a lot of people would've done the same thing."
"He did call 911 and that was a good thing," said Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Curtice. "I think we're lucky no one got hurt."
Sheriff's detectives searched all over the neighborhood for the suspects, but they didn't find anybody.
