OLATHE, Kan. — Burglars got violent during a terrifying home invasion in Olathe – punching a woman in the face, dragging her by the hair and pointing a gun at her head, all in front of her and her sister’s little children.
Police said the burglary happened Monday night at an apartment complex off Strangline Road called The Edge at Olathe.
It was supposed to be a fun night spent with family. A 25-year-old woman and her two kids had welcomed her nieces and nephew over for dinner. In total, there were six children, ages 5 to 13, inside when three men knocked on the door and the woman opened it.
“I’m pretty upset,” said Kim Wallace, who had just dropped her four kids off at her sister’s apartment while she went to work. “I mean, it’s kind of like, unreal.”
Police said the burglars barged inside, wielding a gun and searching the home to steal electronics and a cell phone.
Wallace said at one point, her 13-year-old daughter tried to defend the family.
“My daughter ran into the kitchen to get a knife,” Wallace said. “She was actually going to stab one of them and I guess they saw her do it, and put the gun to my sister’s head and they’re like, ‘Put the knife down! Drop it or we’re going to shoot her in the head!’”
The other children, one as young as five years old, huddled in a bedroom closet while Wallace’s sister tried to alert neighbors.
“My sister tried to take off out the door to get help and they drug her back in the house by her hair and beat her up,” she said.
Wallace’s sister didn’t want to go on-camera, but showed FOX 4 her visible injuries.
“She’s shaken up,” Wallace said. “She’s pretty sore. Her face is swollen, and she’s got a couple scratches on her. I mean, I don’t really know what to think. I just know it’s scary and it worries me.”
Once they got what they wanted, the robbers ran out and drove off in front of several witnesses who heard the woman screaming. She said it looked like a silver Toyota passenger car.
Olathe police are still looking for the men, so if you know anything, call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.