Hundreds pack South San Francisco meeting to address rash of home burglaries

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of people packed into South San Francisco City Hall Thursday night to hear from police about what's being done about a rash of home burglaries.

The most recent target was an elderly woman who was asleep in her bed when it happened.

Not only were people standing inside city council chambers, dozens more filled the overflow atrium. People are scared, especially since the break-ins are now happening even when people are home.

South San Francisco Police Chief Jeff Azzopardi told hundreds of concerned neighbors what he could about the investigation.

He says the burglars appear to be knocking on the front door first, then breaking in through a back door if they think no one is home. South San Francisco resident Ana Miramon took note.

"If they knock on the door, we need to let them know someone is home," said Miramon. "And I'm taking a way I need to go and assess my home and look at safety measures that I need to take, whether it's fixing our fence, putting a lock on the fence, looking at our back door."

"This is the land of the free and it's not because now we got to keep our doors closed, we've got to stay inside because there's people out there stealing," said resident Rick Madrid.

There have been 14 home burglaries in the Buri Buri District of South San Francisco in less than a month.

On Sunday, a 79-year-old woman woke to burglars in her bedroom. In another case, a woman came home to find four men ransacking the house.

"We have a good neighborhood, we always have had, and it's always felt safe. And right now, I don't feel so safe," said resident Donna Taiclet.

The police chief believes they've identified possible suspects, but they're still on the loose.

"We also have stepped up patrols so there are officers in the area non-stop and then we ask that neighbors call whenever they see suspicious vehicles or people," said South San Francisco Police Officer Amy Sariotti.

Police are also offering free home security assessments.