Westminster : 3 Youths Rob Woman as 5 Children Watch

As five children watched, three youths armed with a handgun and switchblades forced their way into a Westminster woman’s home Thursday afternoon and robbed her.

At one point the youth with the handgun grabbed the woman’s 9-month-old baby and threatened to kill the child, then struck the woman in the mouth when she protested, Westminster police Lt. Bob Burnett said.

The woman, whom he declined to name, suffered a cut lip in the incident, Burnett said.

The three youths, who are being sought for armed robbery, escaped on foot with $465 in cash and a video recorder, Burnett said. He said both the woman and her assailants were Vietnamese.

Burnett said three young men, who were about 18 or 19 years old, knocked on the woman’s door on La Pat Place at 2:10 Thursday afternoon, then pushed their way inside. He said the woman, who is 28, was tending five children, ages 9 months to 5 years.