Quick-thinking day care employee recalls terrifying encounter with would-be robbers

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Children sleeping at a daycare are safe, thanks to a quick-thinking employee who locked out armed robbers.

Kala Ridley has worked at Stay & Play 24 Hour Care for eight years. Just after midnight Wednesday, she learned she is calm in an emergency.

"He put the gun to the door and was like, 'Open the door,'" Ridley said. "All I could think about was, 'Please don't shoot. Please do not shoot through this window.'"

Security video shows two men running toward the front door as a mother walks out, holding a baby. Ridley was on the other side of that door. She saw the men running and locked the door just in time.

She ran into another room and dialed 911. By the time police arrived, the two would-be robbers were gone.

"Afterwards I just thought about what if they would have got in? What would they have done to us?" Ridley said. "You know, we were helpless."

Ridley may be selling herself a bit short. Parents dropping off their children at the daycare Friday are calling her a hero.

"Thank goodness that they trained the workers to respond to such an emergency," Yvette Ferrell said.

The community is outraged robbers would target a daycare.

"All you bad guys, be mindful that we are watching, we are waiting and we will get you," Fredrick Gibson said. "We'll let the laws deal with you."

Ridley hopes Harris County Sheriff's Office investigators find the men in the security video and put them behind bars.

"And what can you get from a daycare? There are innocent kids in here," Ridley said, "Innocent."

She's grateful those kids are safe.

If you have any information that could help investigators in this case, contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office.