POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - New video released by the Broward Sheriff’s Office shows the moment a Pompano Beach family found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun inside their own home.
According to deputies, on Feb. 1, just before 11 p.m., a family of four heard a knock at the front door of their home, located along the 100 block of Southeast 10th Avenue.
When they answered the door, three armed men barged inside.
Surveillance video outside the Pompano Beach house recorded the armed men.
“We heard a knock at the door, and I opened the door, and two guys rushed me,” said victim Chris Mills.
Once inside, the armed crooks ordered the family to get on the ground.
The family also installed surveillance cameras inside the house. Mills’ father could be seen on camera being forced to the ground.
One of the robbers then made his way to a bedroom, where he found Mills’ mother, Danielle. “All I know is that some guy woke me up with a gun right between my eyes, tapping me, ‘Get out of bed! Get out of bed!'” she said.
Danielle said the robber then took her to the living room. “I see my son on the ground with a guy having a gun pointed to his head, also my husband, with a gun pointed to his head,” she said. “Then I got on the ground and had a gun pointed to my head.”
Mills said two of the gunmen demanded to know where the family’s safe was located. “They were saying, ‘Where’s it at? Where’s it at?’ and I told them I have no clue of anything they’re talking about,” he said.
Mills said he directed the robbers to an open, empty safe in the kitchen, which was owned by the previous tenant. “And when they came in, they kept saying, ‘Open the safe, open the safe.’ And I was like, ‘Man, the safe is unlocked. Take everything. Take what you want,’ and there was nothing in there,” Mills said.
Before the crooks took off with the father’s cash, an Xbox 360 and a cellphone, the men searched through the refrigerator.
“It appears there was a case of mistaken identity,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Joy Oglesby.
According to Mills, one of the robbers seemed confused, also. “One guy kept saying, ‘Slick, it’s not here. Slick, it’s not here. Let’s leave, Slick. It’s not here,'” Mills said.
The landlord has since replaced the game system and had the safe removed from the apartment.
“My family had nothing to do with whatever they wanted, and they intentfully came into our house and invaded our privacy for something that had nothing to do with us,” Mills said.
None of the family members were hurt during the armed robbery.
If you have any information on this home invasion robbery, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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