Oakland Montclair Home Invasion attempt; suspects at large

According to the City of Oakland, Ca, Yahoo! Cleveland Heights Neighbors Group, two African American men attempted a home invasion on the 500 block of Montclair 5 AM, May 10th. This is the Oakland Yahoo forum report:

Sorry (and scared) to report another home invasion robbery attempt. My neighbor just informed me that there was a home invasion and robbery attempt at the house next to him. This occurred on the 500 block of Montclair Saturday Morning at about 5:00 am, the suspects are two young, African American males (no other description). The main house is a rental and the owner and his family live in the in-law downstairs.

The suspects gained entry through a back upper window by stepping up on a garbage can (not sure if the window was locked or not). The upper unit was empty, so nothing was taken. The owners downstairs heard the noises, came up to investigate and the suspects fled.

Unfortunately that was not the only crime of that kind; note the word "another." Below is an edited letter detailing another crime attempt on the 600 block of Athol in Oakland:

My friend and neighbor across the street asked me to let everyone know what happened this morning. Two men with knives broke into her house while she and her 7 year old son were sleeping, around 5am. One of them held her while the other took her laptop, family jewelry, and bank card -- all right in front of her son.

They managed to get in through a tiny window on the side of the house which was cracked for air. An important fact to note is they broke in on the side of the house that is next to a house that the neighbors recently moved out of -- they knew that no one would hear them because the house next door was empty.

Please be more aware of keeping your windows closed at night and your doors always locked. Also, some people may not be aware that when calling from a cell phone, 911 gets routed to the CHP somewhere else. Remember to dial the following emergency number if using a cell phone: (510) 777-3211. You may want to program it into your cell phone.

For those who are concerned about any possible Oakland racial witch-hunt that could unfold from this, the best way to avoid that is for everyone in the neighborhood to know and talk to each other. That calls for you, yes you, to reach out to people who don't look like you just to know who they are.