Gunmen Abduct 3-Year-Old Boy from Home
Briant Rodriguez was kidnapped by two armed men during a home invasion robbery.
May 4, 2009— -- Investigators were searching Monday for a 3-year-old boy who was kidnapped at gunpoint by two men who broke into his family's California home, tied up his mother and siblings and ransacked the house, police said.
Police said they had not determined a motive for the Sunday afternoon kidnapping of Briant Rodriguez.
"This is extraordinarily unusual," said Lt. Rick Ellers of the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Office. "Stuff like this just doesn't occur too often, especially a child like this."
The California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for Briant Sunday night, several hours after he was taken from his home in San Bernadino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
According to the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Office, two armed men broke into Briant's home, tied up his mother and four siblings, stole money and property from the house and fled.
They took Briant and told his mother not to call the police, the sheriff's department said.
So far, the reason for the abduction remains unclear. Ellers said the boy lived in a relatively poor neighborhood and investigators thought a kidnapping for ransom was unlikely.
"The family is telling us they do not have any idea why this occured or who is responsible," he said.
Ellers said the boy's father was at work at the time. One of the children freed himself and untied the rest of the family, he said.
A neighbor, Estela Magna, told KABC-TV in Los Angeles that the mother told her "They said they were going to take her son and take him to Mexico and kill him."
Briant is about 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. He is Hispanic, and has brown eyes and long, curly brown hair. He was last seen wearing a yellow shirt, blue-striped shorts and black sandals.
One suspect, police say, is thought to be about 18 years old, is 5 feet 8 inches tall,'' wearing jeans, a green shirt and a black baseball cap. The second suspect, about 24, was 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing all black and a white bandana. Both are reportedly armed with handguns.
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