Woman in her 70s scares off burglars from her California home, police say

A woman home alone in an upstairs bedroom heard strange noises inside her Palo Alto, California, home Friday night, police said.

The woman, in her 70s, opened her bedroom door to ask who was there, Palo Alto police said in a news release.

“There’s somebody in there!” a stranger cried out, and three burglars carrying flashlights dashed from another upstairs room, police said. The intruders ran out of the home and scrambled into a parked car, which drove away.

Officers responding to the woman’s 911 call at 9:48 p.m. found the burglars had smashed a sliding glass door to enter the home and had ransacked several rooms.

Security camera videos in the neighborhood show four burglars getting out of the car and then running back a short time later, police said. The videos are not high-enough quality to identify the intruders.

The woman was not sure whether anything had been stolen, police said.

Police ask that anyone with information on the thwarted burglary call 650-329-2413 or leave an anonymous tip at paloalto@tipnow.org.

This story was originally published October 11, 2021 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Woman in her 70s scares off burglars from her California home, police say."