Victim recalls man with firearm, hammer breaking into her Phoenix home: 'I didn’t know what was happening'

A woman had a chilling experience on the morning of May 16 after a man armed with a firearm and a hammer broke into her north Phoenix home, police said.

Phoenix police say the burglary was reported near 15th Avenue and Behrend Drive, just south of the Loop 101 Pima Freeway.

"The victim was able to get away and called the police," officers said in a statement.

SWAT crews eventually surrounded the home and searched the area, but the suspect was nowhere to be found.

The victim is, of course, shaken up, concerned he might come back.

What’s even more concerning to her, is that the man she says came into her home with a gun and a hammer didn’t take anything. She doesn’t know what he wants.

"Very shaky. It didn’t hit me until about an hour ago," said the woman, who is staying unidentified for safety reasons.

The woman was inside her home with her daughter-in-law when the violent break-in unfolded.

"A big crash, and (her daughter-in-law) is yelling ‘there’s someone in the house.’ She wanted me to get out. I didn’t, because I didn’t know what was happening," she said.

The woman says she went into her family room and saw a man with a hammer and a gun, pointing it directly at her daughter-in-law.

"He’s telling her to ‘get back here, get back here,’ and she’s telling him, ‘no! no!' He got her phone and smashed it up," she said.

The grandmother says they were lucky to get out and get to a neighbor’s house to call 911.

"She grabbed my hand, and she ran me out the door," she said.

Phoenix Police say they are searching for the suspect, and the victims are hoping it happens quickly.

"There’s a lot of things he could have taken. My son’s wallet was there, and it was an expensive wallet. Plus, he had money in it," she said. "I don’t know what he wanted and that’s where I'm stuck."

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