AUBURN, Wash. — Auburn police are searching for three armed men who burst into an apartment overnight while a family of five slept at the Mallard Point Apartments on 45th Street Northeast.
Jessica Espinoz led KIRO 7 for an interview, into her two-bedroom Auburn apartment. and said three men walked through the door just before 2:30 a.m.; two of them were wearing masks, and all three were armed.
"They hit him," she said, pointing to her brother-in-law, "and they put him on the ground."
They went through the apartment, she says, until they reached her bedroom. But Espinoz was hiding.
"Because I didn't know what was happening," she said. "So I come and close the door and locked [it]. And they kicked it and they busted [the door]."
The men, they told Auburn police, spoke to them in both English and Spanish so they believe they are Hispanic. Once inside, the crooks allegedly tied those inside up with zip ties.
"And then the three suspects, at that point, just took all of their electronics, cell phone, play station," said Auburn Police Cmdr. Steve Stocker.
They also stole keys to the victims' two vehicles, then the suspects left.
"They told us if we called the police, they were going to come back and kill us," said Espinoz. "We didn't know them."
She said they don't know why the crooks picked them. "No, we don't," she said.
Neither do police. And they say what happened is concerning.
"I think anytime you have someone, people out there doing invasion robberies like this," Stocker said. "I think the entire community should be concerned."
Espinoz says even though one of the men wasn't wearing a mask, he used his shirt to cover his face. So they did not get a good look at them.
But the men didn't have to break in. The family accidentally left the door unlocked.
Anyone who knows anything about this home invasion is asked to call Auburn police.
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