Home invaders terrorize Oakland family

OAKLAND, Calif. -  An Oakland family was confronted at gunpoint by armed home invaders who stole much of their life savings after ransacking their house. 

"They just push in the door and come in and point a gun at me," said a woman who wanted to be identified only as Roseni.

It happened late Tuesday night when several men broke through the back door of Roseni's home in Oakland's Dimond District. They tied up Roseni and her husband and punched him in the mouth, right in front of their 7-year-old daughter.

"They cover up my daughter with a blanket," she said Friday.

They had a chilling warning:

"They say, "If I move and try to run away, the first person I'll shoot will be your daughter,' " she said.

The robbers did reassure Roseni, if you could call it that.

"We're not gonna rape you or hurt you and your family, we're not gonna kill you," she recalled them saying.

They told the robbers they had no money. They weren't satisified.

"They start searching my house, over and over," she said.

Every single room was rifled through and ransacked.They were looking for anything of value: cash, jewelry, even their son's shoes.

Eventually, they found much of the family's life savings.

"They finally got it at the last minute before they leave my house," Roseni said. "They got what they want."

The robbery has traumatized her daughter.

"She couldn't sleep all night, and she is really frightened and she keeps asking me, 'Are they going to come back?' "

At a media briefing Friday, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said, "We understand how traumatic that can be, especially for a young child."

The chief said investigators are following up on leads.

"My heart goes out to that family. I want her to know that we are investigating that case. We hope that people will come forward and bring forth information that will help us find out who was responsible," Armstrong said.