Robbers Posing as Trick-or-Treaters Invade Home
A group of robbers posing as trick-or-treaters burst into a Westminster home and tied up a family of three adults and two children before ransacking the house, police said Wednesday.
The robbers, who searched the home for loot for about 30 minutes, at times answered the door to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, Westminster Police Lt. Bill Lewis said.
The robbers, described as a group of five to eight teenagers or young men wearing dark clothing, face paint and masks, rang the doorbell of the home on Melrose Circle about 7:30 Halloween night.
One of the robbers fired a shot from a handgun during a brief struggle with one of the victims, but no one was seriously injured, police said.
All five victims, including two children about 9 years old, were bound with rope, Lewis said. The robbers, who spoke Vietnamese to the victims, fled with an unknown amount of valuables in the family’s car. It was found abandoned about a quarter of a mile from the home.
Family members freed themselves and called police after the robbers left.
“I’m sure they were pretty traumatized by the whole event,” Sgt. Mark Groh said.
Lewis said it was the first home-invasion robbery in the city in more than three years.
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