- A vigilant Los Angeles homeowner defended his property by confronting burglars who broke into a van parked on the street
- Surveillance footage showed the homeowner trying to disrupt the break-in with a baseball bat shortly after midnight Monday morning
- The suspects' vehicle pulled up next to the van, and as two men approached the driver's side, the homeowner swung the bat and broke the back window
A California homeowner took it upon himself to defend his vehicle and confronted a gang of burglars armed with a baseball bat just as they were breaking into a van parked on the street.
The Los Angeles resident was seen on home surveillance camera footage racing back and forth between the electric gates protecting him in North Hollywood to disrupt robbers who were breaking into the van parked right in front of his home.
The suspects' vehicle is seen pulling up next to a van shortly after midnight Monday morning.
The video then shows two people getting out and approaching the driver's side window.
A car can be seen next to a van in a Los Angeles suburb
An eagle-eyed homeowner realizes what's going on and runs through his gate with a baseball bat
The man runs to stop the thieves as they steal tools and equipment from the van parked on the street
In the top left of the picture you can see the man throwing a punch at the thief's vehicle and he manages to land a few blows
They break the window, setting off the alarm and alerting the homeowner inside.
The man in sandals can then be seen running into the street with his bat.
He manages to deliver a few blows of his own to the suspects' car, who quickly get back into their own vehicle.
But the man is undeterred and strikes, seemingly shattering the suspect's rear window before they drive away in a hurry.
A video from inside the van shows a variety of equipment and tools, including a few ladders.
According to the family, tools worth thousands of dollars were stolen from the van
Broken glass can be seen on the street after the break-in early Monday morning
The thieves had searched the van to see if there was anything worth stealing
Shattered glass covers the driver's seat and the floor of the van
A man, who later identified himself as the father of the van owner, said other vans in the area had recently been broken into and searched
A man who later identified himself as the father of the van owner told how thousands of dollars worth of tools had been stolen and that other vans in the area had recently been broken into and ransacked.
“I heard the alarm going off and ran outside,” the victim told KTLA. '[There were] “Two people … who came around the corner, backed up, then smashed the side of the window and then smashed the front of the car.”
Los Angeles Police Department investigators believe the car involved in the break-ins may have been a black Honda or Infiniti.
There are no descriptions of the two suspects.
Shocking moment A Los Angeles homeowner sprints out of his house with a BASEBALL BAT to fight a car-stealing gang in the crime-ridden city