High gates and burglar-barred windows weren't enough to protect an elderly woman in Little Havana from a home invasion Monday afternoon.
The victim's family came by her home on the 1200 block of Southwest 17th Terrace to spend the night under their watch. About 2 o'clock Monday afternoon, Miami Police said the victim answered a knock on her front door, and within seconds, three white, Hispanic males, barged in, tied her up, ransacked her home, stole personal items, and fled.
Detectives said the victim wasn't seriously injured.
Neighbor Maria Rapio worried the unnamed victim may have been held up by the same men who broke into her home.
"One week ago, they steal from me too," said Rapio. "They come inside to my house, they take my safe, my big safe. Everything they take from me."
Neighbor Osvaldo Rodriguez told NBC 6 the victim is elderly, and has lived in her home on Southwest 17th Terrace for years. He said the area is generally safe, and quiet.
For 37 years, Rapio said she has lived in this Little Havana neighborhood, and the recent rash of robberies are the most unsafe she believes it's ever been.
"Every day, somebody steal over there, somebody on the other side, somebody there. I'm scared," she said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
