“I would never in a million years think that something like this would have ever happened to me.”
Dramatic video shows the moments a north Baton Rouge couple was dragged from their home at gunpoint during a violent home invasion in the middle of the night.
It happened last September, and so far, there have been no arrests or major developments in the case.
The victim spoke with Unfiltered with Kiran about the 17 minutes of terror. UWK is protecting her identity because she said she is still living in fear over what happened.
“I’ve lived in the same place for 20 years,” the victim said. “I would never in a million years think that something like this would have ever happened to me.”
The incident started around 2:30 a.m. on September 2. The victim’s fiancé walked outside to smoke before calling it a night. He wasn’t outside long when four armed, masked men ran up and grabbed him. Minutes later, they rang the front doorbell to the house.
Still dazed from being woken up, the victim walked downstairs and opened the front door.
“They came around the bush, guns drawn,” she recalled. “I was startled. I came out, he grabbed my arm and said, ‘Come with me’.”
She said she was led to her own backyard at gunpoint. That’s when she saw her fiancé.
“He had blood coming from his head, and he was taped up,” she said. “I thought this was it.”
She said that they were eventually led inside the home where the masked men ransacked the house looking for money and anything of value. They even tried to get into a safe the couple had in their bedroom, but it was empty.
Scrambling for anything they could find, the masked assailants changed their strategy.
“They took us outside to the front yard where they made us undress,” she recalled through tears.
She said the men were going to drive them to an ATM and force them to withdraw cash, but she refused to get in their car. They eventually left and the couple called 9-1-1.
A Baton Rouge Police Department incident report shows that the couple had hundreds of dollars of cash, credit cards, iPhones and seven guns stolen. Among the guns taken were three pistols, three assault rifles and a revolver. The couple’s car and house keys were also taken. They also ripped the Ring doorbell camera from the wall.
The victims said they have been replaying the events from the home invasion four months ago in their heads, including why they even opened the door in the first place.
“I have a son who lives with use sometimes,” she said. “It’s not unusual that he’s locked himself out or that my fiancé is outside smoking and may lock himself out because we make it a habit to lock the door.”
“We have cameras everywhere, so I’m like why didn’t I look at the camera before I opened the door.”
She said she’s still living in fear because there have been no arrests.
“I feel like some areas are neglected, and I feel like ours is. You should not have to live in an elite area [to get justice],” said the victim.
One of the armed gunmen had a distinct tattoo on his arm. It’s hard to make out what the tattoo is from the Ring video, but it is on the suspect’s left forearm. One of the suspects involved in the home invasion was wearing a denim jacket and a third was wearing cutoff shorts with several holes.
“I’m very grateful we are able to tell our story because these situations don’t always end like this,” the victim said. “It could be you. It could be anybody.”
If you have any information about the incident, you can call Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP or submit an anonymous tip online.
This is terrifying! Hard to believe there were no leads. BRPD needs to do better.
and…. Did the BRPD police report REALLY reference “three assault rifles”? Assault rifles (AKA Machine guns) are fully automatic – It’s hard to believe they reported three fully automatic weapons to the police, as they are illegal for most people to own.