Armed Robbers Attack Couple in Granada Hills Home : Crime: Police say two gunmen knocked on the door and tied up the husband and wife in the afternoon holdup. The woman was raped by one assailant and a ring valued at $800,000 was taken.

A couple enjoying their New Year’s holiday at home were attacked in the middle of the afternoon by armed robbers who made off with a diamond ring worth an estimated $800,000 after one of the intruders raped the woman, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

When the 47-year-old man and his 48-year-old wife answered a knock at their front door in the 17600 block of Tuscan Drive in Granada Hills about 1:30 p.m. Monday, two men were pointing pistols at them, Lt. Bob Normandy said.

The men forced their way inside, tied up the couple and used pairs of the couple’s socks as gloves so they would not leave fingerprints as they ransacked the house, Normandy said. During the hourlong ordeal, he said, one of the robbers forced the woman to an upstairs bedroom and raped her.

After the robbers left, the couple freed themselves and called police. Gone were several thousand dollars worth of jewelry, about $2,000 cash and a gold ring with three three-carat diamonds that the couple said is worth $800,000, Normandy said.

Normandy said detectives are trying to find out if the robbers have struck before in the area. “There have been some other home-invasion type things,” Normandy said. “But this is rare for us.”

The wrought-iron gates to the couple’s two-story house were padlocked Tuesday, and neighbors in the posh area said they were frightened by the incident.

“To think that people can walk into your house at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and point a gun at you,” said a 68-year-old man, who has lived on the block for 20 years. “I didn’t sleep good last night, and I’m sure the others in the neighborhood didn’t either.”

Another San Fernando Valley home was burglarized Monday afternoon while its residents were out.

Thieves broke into that house in the 4400 block of Densmore Avenue in Encino and made off with a safe containing about $340,000 in cash, police said. Further details were not released.