Elderly woman reports hot prowl burglary at Elmwood home
The burglars, who wore masks, "were aware of the woman's presence" and walked past her during the break-in, police said.
On a recent Monday morning, an 87-year-old woman was home alone in the Elmwood neighborhood when two men kicked in her front door.
It was June 29, and not yet 8 a.m., in the 2900 block of Linden Avenue, Berkeley police said in response to a Scanner inquiry. The typically quiet block rarely has any crime.
The men, who wore masks and dark clothing, "were aware of the woman's presence" and walked past her during the break-in as they "prowled" the home, authorities said.
The woman quickly went to a neighbor's house to call 911 for help, according to police and public records.
The men were described as 5 feet 10 and unknown race, police said.
Berkeley patrol officers responded within minutes but the men were already gone.
After returning home, the woman did not notice anything missing, authorities said.
Police have not reported any arrests. No charges have been filed, according to public records. The investigation is ongoing.
According to preliminary Berkeley police data, there have been at least 172 home burglaries in the city this year, down from 196 over the same period last year (a 12% decrease).
Local statistics about "hot prowl" burglaries — when someone is home at the time of the break-in — are not routinely available but they happen much less often than burglaries of unoccupied homes.
