Baseball bat-wielding L.A. homeowner fights back against car burglars

Video captured the moment a homeowner grabbed a baseball bat and confronted a group of car burglars in North Hollywood overnight.

One of several break-ins occurred in the 7600 block of Beck Avenue near Saticoy Street at about 12:30 a.m. Monday morning, according to the timestamp on the home surveillance footage. 

The suspects’ vehicle is seen pulling up next to a van. Two people get out and approach the driver’s side window of the van, the video shows. 

At the same time, another camera angle shows a man running out of the home with a baseball bat and going after the thieves. 

The homeowner smashed the back of the suspects’ vehicle possibly shattering its rear window.

Inside the van was an assortment of equipment and tools, including two ladders, based on video recorded by stringer service Key News.

A man who identified himself as the van owner’s father told KTLA 5’s Erin Myers that thousands of dollars worth of tools had been taken and that another van in the neighborhood had also recently been burglarized.

Video from another home in North Hollywood, in the 11900 block of Elkwood Street, shows what may have been the same suspects hitting another car.

“I heard the alarm go off and I ran outside with my gun,” the victim said. “[There were] two people…who came to the corner, backed up, then smashed the side of the window and then smashed the front of the car.” 

The vehicle’s side window was shattered but the thieves didn’t get away with anything, the owner said, adding that break-ins targeting vans with tools in them have been increasing in recent weeks.

Los Angeles Police Department investigators say the vehicle involved in the break-ins may be a black Honda or Infiniti. No descriptions were immediately available for the two suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department.