Intruder pulls gun on women at El Monte home

EL MONTE — A SWAT team searched for, but ultimately did not find, a man who broke into a Mountain View Road home Friday and pulled a gun on two women who lived there as they his from him inside their garage, officials said.
The strange crime was reported shortly before 4 p.m. at a house in the 2600 block of Mountain View Road, El Monte police Sgt. Michael Buckannon said in a written statement.
The incident began when a woman reported an “unknown male Caucasian subject entered her residence through an unlocked doorway,” the sergeant said. The man asked the woman if she had a room available for rent, and she responded that she did not.
“The resident became fearful for her personal safety when she observed the handle of a knife protruding from the waistband of the suspect’s pants,” Buckannon said. She ran to the home’s attacked garage and locked the door, but was still able to look into the interior of the home through a window.
She watched as the man approached a second woman living in the home and grabbed her by the wrist, Buckannon said. But the second woman managed to break free of the man’s grasp and also took refuge in the garage and locked the door.
“The primary female resident continued to monitor the actions of the suspect from the garage and watched the suspect remove a blue steel, unknown-model handgun from his waistband,” Buckannon said. “The suspect demanded that the females exit the garage.”
The second woman called police, who responded to the home and set up a perimeter around it, he said. The residents told police they believed the gunman was still inside their home.
An El Monte police SWAT team was summoned and surrounded the house and ultimately went in looking for the man, but found the home to be empty, Buckannon said.
The armed man’s ultimate intentions were not clear, however police said they were taking the incident very seriously.
“The El Monte Police Department wants to assure the public that every effort is being made to find any and all outstanding subjects who may be involved in this incident,” Buckannon said. Anyone with information was asked to contact the department at 626-580-2100.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email