It was a scary moment for a Chicago family targeted during a smash-and-grab while they visited San Francisco recently.
Several family members and two toddlers were sitting inside the vehicle when the incident occurred near Lombard Street and a witness was able to take pictures of the suspects, KRON reported Wednesday.
What shocked them more than anything else was it took place while children were sitting in the vehicle’s back seat.
Another aspect that made the incident different from others was one of the victims had a device in the stolen bag that has since tracked the moves of the alleged thieves.
“I was in the car when it happened. All I could hear was a smash and then I said no, I jumped out of the car but it was quick. It was five seconds,” Kimberly Balde explained.
She and her sister Katherine had parked their rental car near Lombard Street Monday when the incident took place
“You could see that people were in the car so each seat was taken and my two daughters were in the back, one’s two and one’s four and it was behind the 4-year-old and like I said she seen him, he had a ski mask on, and he was wearing all black. And she said, ‘that ninja took that bag,'” Katherine added.
A resident saw the incident, took photos of the suspects, and claimed three vehicles circling the area were involved.
According to Kimberly, her bag was stolen with her computer, headphones, Katherine’s passport, the childrens’ birth certificates, and other items.
“It’s an organized crime for sure, like, they have it very well thought out. It was a five-second deal and if they can get away with it in five seconds why wouldn’t they keep doing it,” she said.
Meanwhile, San Francisco’s Union Square, the high-end shopping area at the city’s center, boarded up for the Christmas shopping season following numerous “mass looting” incidents that started the weekend before Thanksgiving.
“Some retailers have called on Mayor London Breed to resign after championing proposals to reduce funding to the police. District Attorney Chesa Boudin faces a recall election, driven by residents who are frustrated by his refusal to prosecute petty and “quality of life” crimes in the city,” Breitbart News reported December 1.
In addition, statistics showed the epidemic of car break-ins was growing worse in San Francisco, KPIX reported Wednesday:
The sisters told KRON they knew about all the break-ins prior to their visit but did not expect one to happen so quickly and while they were inside the vehicle.
They filed a police report and also gave officials information regarding the tracking device on the laptop.