Home invasion robbery in Mountain View shakes up neighborhood

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- A local student was the victim of a brazen home invasion robbery. He was woken up, tied up, and then thieves ransacked his home.

ABC7 News spoke to the young man's roommate who described what it was like finding her friend scared and hysterical. The break-in happened Wednesday on San Marcos Circle in Mountain View.

Extra patrols are in the Rex Manor neighborhood overnight. It's a sought after place by families since schools and parks are nearby, but now it's on robbers' radars as well.

On quiet San Marcos Circle, neighbors know each other and the one thing everyone feels is safe.

Neighbor Maria Graham said, "I never used to lock my door. I'm locking it now."

That sense of security disappeared this week, after robbers broke into a home through an unlocked window at 10:30 p.m. Once inside, they found a resident sleeping in his bedroom. But instead of sneaking right back out of the house, they tied him up.

Mountain View Police Sgt. Saul Jaeger said, "Tying the victim up, which usually gets them out of the way so they can continue to do what they're doing. We're not sure in this case whether they were expecting someone to be in the house or not."

Hui Xin also lives in the home. She spoke with ABC7 News through a translator. She found her housemate when she got home around noon. She said he was screaming and she untied him and called 911.

By then the robbers were long gone with thousands in cash. Xin lives in the home with her son, his girlfriend and the victim who is a student from Singapore renting a room. After what happened, she's scared and said she couldn't fall asleep last night.

Police don't have a lot to go on. The victim barely saw the suspects since he wasn't wearing his glasses. A witness saw a dark colored sedan parked in front of the house.