LOS ANGELES, CA – Two masked men armed with shotguns broke into a home in the Hollywood Hills on Sunday night, demanded that a woman open a safe and fled before officers arrived, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Officers responded to the 7700 block of Torreyson Drive, near Mulholland Drive, at about 11:27 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, after a report of a “hot prowl” burglary, a police term for a break-in while residents are inside. The woman told police that one of the intruders choked her.
No arrests had been announced as of Monday, Nov. 9, and the case remains under investigation.
Suspects demanded access to a safe
LAPD said the two men, both wearing masks, entered the multi-level home and held the woman at gunpoint. They demanded that she open a safe.
The woman reported that one of the men choked her. She got away and ran out of the home with a private security guard.
Police said the woman called 911 herself. The department had not said whether the intruders took anything from the home.
Two teenage boys found unharmed
Two teenage boys who were inside the home when the suspects entered also fled. They were later found unharmed down the street.
Because the boys are minors, they are not being identified. The woman has also not been named.
The Los Angeles Fire Department evaluated the occupants at the scene. According to initial reports, none of them needed hospital treatment, and the woman was not hospitalized.
Getaway car and shotgun outside the home
The suspects left before officers reached the house. LAPD said they possibly fled in a gray Toyota Prius, and the direction they took is not known.
Officers recovered a shotgun outside the residence. Police have not confirmed whether the weapon belonged to the intruders.
LAPD has not released a description of either suspect beyond the masks and the shotguns. The department’s reported location for the break-in is the 7700 block of Torreyson Drive.
A hillside neighborhood near Mulholland Drive
The block sits near Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills, a residential area in the city of Los Angeles. The case falls under the department’s Hollywood Area, and detectives are handling the investigation.
The LAPD publishes a COMPSTAT profile for the Hollywood Area that summarizes crime statistics for the area. The most recent version available covers Aug. 30 to Sept. 26, and it predates this incident.
There is no indication in the information available that this case is connected to any other reported crime in the area.
Police guidance on home security
The LAPD’s burglary prevention page offers residents guidance on securing a home. Its topics include video cameras, alarm systems and lighting, as well as securing a safe to the residence and reporting suspicious activity to police.
The page is general guidance. It does not address this case.
How the investigation stands
Detectives took over the case after the initial patrol response. LAPD had not said Monday whether any items were stolen or whether investigators had identified the car or the men.
Anyone with information about the break-in on Torreyson Drive is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division.
No arrests announced in Torreyson Drive break-in
As of Monday, Nov. 9, no one had been taken into custody. The investigation remains active.
