It happened just outside the City of Dinuba on Road 96 near Avenue 416. The victim said his natural instinct was to try and stop the crooks from leaving the scene. Instead he and his wife sped away after the suspects shot at them.
Isaac Orduno said he had just gotten into his car with his wife to leave the house when they noticed a car parked nearby with the back doors open and no one inside.
"So then my wife gets the crazy feeling she goes you know we should just stay home and not go out anymore -- and as I'm coming back to my house, you know, dialing 9-1-1 to report an abandoned vehicle, these two individuals are running across the fence," said Isaac Orduno, victim.
Orduno said he saw two men run across the street to a nearby orchard. "I had backed up my vehicle to block them. I never suspected for them to come up from behind me and shoot at me. They shot six times at me."
After hearing the gunshots Orduno and his wife, who is 8 months pregnant, sped off to safety. He said he tried to follow the burglars but quickly lost them.
He's not sure if the suspects were waiting for the two of them to leave. "I'm happy that my kids weren't at home. I'm happy that my wife and I weren't home. We were actually just leaving. I don't know if they were planning to break in while we were still there."
"We were very fortunate that he didn't get struck and law enforcement did arrive. Unfortunately the vehicle had already fled," said Sgt. Chris Douglass, Tulare County Sheriff's Office.
Tulare County Sheriff's Sergeant Chris Douglass said during the holiday season their office investigates more home burglaries. She advises people to hide presents and expensive items from plain view and make your safety a number one priority. "They don't know if there's any weapons or not, so we don't encourage them to stop them themselves. We really encourage them to be the best witnesses they can be get as much information as possibly can to help us identify who the suspects are."
The victim says he's lucky his alarm system was on in case the burglars did break in. Right now, deputies are looking for a blue Ford Explorer. If you have information you're asked to call them immediately.
