The homeowner thinks the thieves were watching him, waiting till he left to break in. Little did they know his two sons were still inside.
Daniel Vasquez left his house just before 8am Monday, looking for Christmas gifts for his two sons. Minutes later, a phone call.
"My son was crying and he was scared," he said.
He'd left his 15- and 12-year-old sons home alone. The younger woke up to find two men inside their house.
"Robbing stuff and vandalizing stuff," 12-year-old Emiliano Vasquez said.
The men apparently kicked in the back door, destroying its frame and allowing them access. There is a burglar bar on that door but it was left open.
Emiliano says he'd just woken up. He ran back to his older brother's bedroom as soon as he saw the strangers. The brothers called their father for help while looking unsuccessfully for a weapon, should the intruders get in the bedroom.
"Just hid under the bed," 15-year-old Nicolas Vasquez said.
"You hid under the bed, thinking that maybe he wouldn't see you?" we asked.
"I guess," he said.
The men fled, however, apparently spooked after discovering that indeed someone was home, but not before Daniel says they grabbed a flat screen TV and his laptop.
"Thank goodness nobody was hurt," he said.
What they stole here, Vasquez says he can replace, it's his two boys, his family, which he cannot. They're just thankful they celebrate this Christmas Eve together.
If you know anything about the thieves who hit this house you can contact Houston police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.
