PINOLE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Pinole family is on edge after a terrifying carjacking happened Wednesday morning. Two young brothers were forced from their mother's car at gunpoint as they waited for a ride to school.
"They was like, 'Get out the car, get out the car,'" 13-year-old Londell Smith said. "I stared at him for like one second, then he pointed the gun at me and I was like, 'Oh snap.' So I had to think fast and I had to get my brother out quick."
"They forced me to get out and they punched me in my arm, really hard and my brother ran out the car and pulled me from my jacket right here," 9-year-old Kemuel McNeil said.
The incident happened right in front of their home in Pinole. The boys were in the family's Yukon SUV waiting for their mom to take them to school.
Latrice Hayes was gathering her things and just heading out the front door when she realized the SUV was gone.
"And my kids were running from the sidewalk to me, crying and yelling my name out and stuff saying, 'Mama, Mama we just got carjacked,'" Hayes said.
Police have since recovered the Yukon and they've also arrested four people.
"Preliminary information suggests that the individuals that were identified in this case in Pinole have ties to crimes that occurred earlier in the day throughout Contra Costa County," Pinole police Detective John Corcoran said.
That includes at least one other carjacking and two robberies. Investigators are looking for one more person.
For these brothers, it's going to take some time for them to feel safe again.
"I was horrified. I couldn't even do my math at school. I didn't even want to play," Kemuel said.
"When I saw that gun, I thought, I thought I was about to die," Londell said.
Hayes says she thought her street was safe, but she'll never leave her children alone again.