In the latest in a rash of home burglaries targeting a San Francisco neighborhood, thieves made away with a gun safe Wednesday, and residents are now fearing they could be the next victim.
The string of property crimes in the Outer Sunset and Lakeshore districts on the west side of the city have prompted police to schedule a special neighborhood meeting next week to deal with the problem. In the meantime, residents are fearing more burglaries.
San Francisco police said the burglars who struck early Wednesday afternoon on Morningside Drive got away with a safe filled with more than two dozen guns.
On Wednesday night, police continued to canvass homes on Morningside, looking for witnesses who may have seen something or someone unusual about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A woman who identified herself only as the daughter of the burglary victims said her father told her he was gone maybe 90 minutes and returned to find someone had kicked in the front door, stolen a safe and ransacked the house.
"It's getting pretty close to home now, and it does shake us up quite a bit," she said.
San Francisco police also have shown concern for the string of crimes. On the Taraval police station website it says: "As a district, Taraval residents have been greatly impacted by the increase of residential burglaries and hot prowl incidents."
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Police and supervisors Katy Tang and Norman Yee called a community meeting for next week to update the public and come up with a plan.
Police said the burglaries are occurring in the daytime and added that the burglars are likely targeting property they can quickly turn into cash.
The thieves who struck Wednesday took far more from the couple than a safe full of guns.
"I think they've lost trust, and I think they're going to be a little hesitant every time they leave the house," the woman said about her parents. "They're going to be a little paranoid."
