Neighbors, schools put on lockdown after burglary, police chase in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- If you ask anyone living in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood, the recent wave of auto thefts, home invasions, attacks and burglaries is unusual for the small corner of the city.
"I don't know what's going on, but it's kind of terrifying," Kelly Dudley told ABC7 News.
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Just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, San Jose police say a man and young woman were found burglarizing a home along California Avenue, near Lincoln Avenue.
A resident was home at the time and found the two suspects.
The pair ran off, got into a vehicle and left.
SJPD says the suspects didn't get far before crashing into another car at the intersection of California Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. Both suspects then took off on foot.
Police say the man and young woman were jumping fences, which forced officers to set up a perimeter and required neighbors to shelter-in-place.
A nearby elementary school and a preschool were part of Wednesday's neighborhood lock down.
"I saw that Willow Glen Elementary had a shelter in place, and Woodhaven pre-school had a shelter in place," Dudley explained. "So, I was like, this is a lot of craziness and I thought I lived in Willow Glen."
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She and her two young boys were home during the police search. Dudley said she and the boys could see police activity and the police helicopter in the sky.
SJPD says the suspects, an adult man and juvenile woman, were eventually arrested. The car they were driving was reported stolen out of San Jose.
"Unfortunately, I think the word's out that Willow Glen's a nice community," Long-time neighbor, Cory Gurley explained. "With working families gone during the day, opportunity is presenting itself. Not good."
Gurley admitted he used to leave his doors and windows open at night, but knows that can't happen anymore.
"I don't want to be gone and my wife come home and experience something like that," he explained.
He said, simply, "You don't want your property taken."
On social media platforms like Facebook and NextDoor, neighbors are sharing stories about crimes they've encountered. Stories that include brazen crimes that happen in broad daylight.
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"Every day, someone's reporting some kind of crime and something's going on," Dudley said. "We just have to lock our doors all the time. Even when we're just walking to the park or down the street or something like that."
There is no clear explanation about why Willow Glen is being targeted, but now even the youngest residents are asking questions.
"They were like, 'Mommy why are you locking all the doors? Why are you shutting all the windows?' and I made up a story about helicopters and just tried to like, kind of mitigate," Dudley said.
Councilwoman Dev Davis shared this statement with ABC7 News: "Due to the increased patrolling that I had requested, I'm thankful that the police were able to arrest the suspects so quickly. I urge residents to continue to call 911 if they witness or suspect a crime is being committed."
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