Kimberly Balde of Chicago was sitting in a minivan, with her young nieces and an adult cousin, near San Francisco’s Lombard Street on Monday afternoon when she heard a loud and startling smash.

Kimberly looked behind her, across the back seat, to check on the children, ages 2 and 4, who were sitting in the third row. She saw that the window was broken, as well as a male suspect, who was wearing a ski mask and black gloves. The suspect was in the midst of grabbing a bag containing a laptop, a passport, the children’s birth certificates, headphones and more, she said. The strap of the bag was wrapped around the headrest where one of the girls was sitting.

The older child exclaimed, “A ninja took your bag,” Kimberly said.

“I didn’t really have time to react,” Kimberly said. “When it happened, I heard the window smash. I looked back and I looked at the kids and they were surprised. I jumped out of the car. It was a five-second deal.”

While Kimberly was rattled, she said that she’s relieved no one was hurt.

The San Francisco Police Department said it responded to the incident in Russian Hill at Hyde and Lombard streets, the top of the famous curving road, just before 3 pm

“The suspect took the backpack and got into a waiting vehicle, which was being operated by a second unknown suspect,” the department said in a statement. “The suspects then fled the scene.”

Smash-and-grab car robberies, with a thief breaking a window to steal a suitcase or purse left in the vehicle, are common in San Francisco. It’s not unusual to see the windows of multiple cars, parked in a row along an SF street, all broken.

Russian Hill falls under the jurisdiction of SFPD’s Central Station, which reports more larceny theft from cars than any other station in the city, department data showed. The station has seen a 179% percent increase in reports of theft from vehicles, when comparing data from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 of this year with the same time frame last year.

Kimberly’s sister, Katherine, was using the restroom during the burglary and when she was returned to the car. When she saw the broken window, she was shocked.

“Throughout the whole vacation, we had been on guard with the smash and grabs,” Katherine said. “We’re aware it’s an issue in San Francisco. In Chicago, it’s armed robberies, carjackings. It’s nothing new to us. But this did surprise us.”

Kimberly had a tracking device on her computer, and she has been able to locate the laptop on GPS. The police department is investigating the incident.

The post Household was in automotive with toddlers throughout San Francisco smash-and-grab at Lombard Road appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Horrible moments for a Chicago family who were smash-and-grave while visiting San Francisco this week.

Several family members and two small children were sitting in the car when it happened near Lombard Street – these photos of the suspects were shot by a witness during the break-in.

Victims say that big city crime is nothing new to them, but what shocked them most was the fact that all of this happened while having young children in the back seat.

What also sets this Smash & Grab apart from many others is that one of the victims had something in the stolen bag that has followed the thieves’ every move since the robbery.

“I was in the car when it happened. All I could hear was a pop and then I said no, I jumped out of the car but it was quick. It was five seconds. “

Kimberly Balde and her sister Katherine stopped their rental car near Lombard Street Monday when they were smash-and-grab victims.

“You could see people were in the car so every seat was taken and my two daughters were in the back, a two and a four and it was behind the 4 year old and like I said she saw him. He wore all black with a black ski mask and she said, “This ninja took this bag.”

A neighbor witnessed the break-in and took photos of the suspects, alleging that three cars were circling the area and were involved in the crime.

Kimberly says her bag was stolen, along with her computer, headphones, Katherine’s passport, children’s birth certificates, and more.

“It’s an organized crime for sure, you thought it through well. It was a five-second deal, and if you can get away with it in five seconds, why shouldn’t you keep doing it. “

The family were visiting from Chicago, another city where they see a lot of crime. That’s why Kimberly says she has a GPS device like an Apple Air Tag on her laptop. That’s actually why she’s been able to track down the robber’s whereabouts since the break-in.

Surveillance and cell phone videos show smash and grabs happening in the same spot over the past year.

The sisters were aware of all of these break-ins before visiting town, but they didn’t expect it to happen that quickly while they were inside.

“But my cousin said it from the start: ‘You have to see it. You got smashed here and grabbed. ‘ Your friend said so. We have been extra careful, as if we were trying to be extra careful, but when you aren’t and you let your vigilance down. We slept. We slept. We definitely did. “

The sisters reported to the police at the SFPD and gave them information about the tracker on the laptop. The site was still in motion until tonight, but no arrests were made.

The post Automotive damaged into with relations, toddlers inside close to San Francisco’s Lombard Road appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.