Intruders broke into a home belonging to an Asian American homeowner in San Francisco, California, while he was out of the house tidying up the graves of family members at a cemetery in Colma on Friday afternoon.
However, the man's 11-year-old cousin was alone in the house and in the middle of distance learning at the time of the break-in.
According to ABC 7, the terrified girl was grabbed by her shirt and forced into the bathroom by the two thieves who began ransacking the residence.
While trapped inside the bathroom, the girl scrawled, "help...robbers!!" on the wall with a pencil and shared her message of distress to her classmates on Zoom.
You can watch the news report, below.
The unnamed girl thought she was going to be murdered or kidnapped when she wrote her silent call for help, but she was ultimately unharmed.
She also wrote her name on the wall but the news station redacted it from the video report for privacy reasons.
Earlier the same day, the homeowner – who wished to remain anonymous – had his car broken into and tires slashed during his visit to the cemetery.
He later discovered that the Portola home he lived in for 28 years was in shambles –with thousands in foreign currency, jewelry, and camera equipment stolen.
A family member set up a GoFundMe to recoup some of the losses from the burglary and to pay for the installation of a new security system.
The relative who set up the campaign noted the robbers entered the house by using the remote to the garage door they stole from the homeowner's car that had the man's address on it.
The break-in signifies another example of the anxiety Asian Americans face after an unsettling surge of attacks targeting the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community continue to make news headlines.
Authorities are warning Asian American residents in the city not to leave large amounts of currency in their homes – especially after the Lunar New Year when Chinese families participate in the tradition of gifting children with money inside red envelopes to symbolize good luck.
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Burglary Detail is currently investigating the case.
So far, neither of the two thieves involved have been identified.
Anyone with more information is encouraged to contact the SFPD 24-Hour Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
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