Two suspects have been arrested for kidnapping a household of 4, together with a 6-month-old child, in a U-Haul van.
Michael Rodriguez and Bich Dao Vo, also referred to as Michelle Rodriguez, have been taken into custody by police in Westminster, California for the armed kidnapping of a mom, her son-in-law, and two youngsters, one 14-year-old lady and one boy underneath a 12 months outdated.
Vo is the mom’s daughter and the sister of {the teenager}. The 6-month-old boy is her son, police advised the Orange County Register.
Rodriguez and Vo allegedly forced their way into the victims’ home in Westminster with a handgun and demanded they hand over money.
When the parents couldn’t find any money, Rodriguez pistol-whipped the adults.
Rodriguez and Vo then forced the family at gunpoint into a U-Haul van. They drove them to a nearby motel and again threatened them for money.
At some point in the night, the two adult victims were able to escape the motel room and make it back to their house on foot. They called 911 from their home, where police found them bleeding from head wounds.
Police arrived at the motel and arrested Rodriguez and Vo without incident. They found the two children unharmed in the motel room.
Upon searching the U-Haul, they found a loaded AK-47 assault rifle and a loaded .40-caliber handgun.
‘This violent and disturbing crime is particularly disturbing, due to the young age of the two of the victims,’ Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi said. ‘The Westminster Police Department Major Crimes Unit will be further investigating this incident.’
The duo was booked at Orange County Jail and charged with kidnapping, assault with a firearm, robbery, false imprisonment, child endangerment, and felony possession of a firearm.
This is the second major kidnapping of a family California has seen in the last month. A family of four, including an 8-month-old baby, was kidnapped from their trucking business in Merced.
The family was tragically discovered dead in an orchard 140 miles away.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Fb for the most recent information updates. Now you can additionally get Metro.co.uk articles despatched straight to your system. Join our every day push alerts right here.