Two adults and two children were kidnapped during a violent home invasion in Westminster early Friday, and a relative is one of two people arrested in the attack, police said.
The incident was reported around 2:35 a.m. in the 14300 block of Pine Street.
A man and a woman were found bleeding from head injuries, according to the Westminster Police Department.
Authorities learned that two armed suspects forcefully entered the home and demanded money while a 14-year-old girl and a 6-month-old baby were also inside.
The male assailant allegedly pistol whipped both adult victims when no money was inside the house.
The suspects then allegedly forced the victims into a U-Haul cargo van parked outside, drove the victims to a hotel in Costa Mesa and threatened to kill the victims if they did not get money, police said.
The two adult victims were able to escape from the room, leaving the two children behind.
They returned home and called 911 to report the incident, police said.
The two children were eventually found uninjured inside the hotel room.
Police later spotted the U-Haul in the area of Goldenwest Street and Westminster Boulevard.
The suspects, identified as Michael Alexander Rodriguez, 26, of Garden Grove, and Bich Dao Vo, aka Michelle Rodriguez, 30, of Westminster, were stopped by police and eventually arrested.
Vo is the adult female victim’s daughter, the mother of the baby and the sister of the girl, the Orange County Register reported. Police did not indicate whether the male suspect is related to the family.
A loaded .40 caliber gun and a loaded AK-47 assault rifle were found inside the van, police said.
The suspects were booked on suspicion of kidnapping, assault with a firearm, robbery, false imprisonment, child endangerment and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“This violent and disturbing crime is particularly disturbing, due to the young age of the two of the victims,” Westminster police Chief Darin Lenyi said in a statement.
The incident remains under investigation.