A California mom bravely chased down two burglars she caught leaving her home and smashed out their getaway car’s back window with her bare hand as they fled with her handgun and her son’s piggy bank.
Kiara Ortiz said she had just picked up lunch with her two children on Saturday when they spotted the thieves exiting from their Torrance apartment in southwestern Los Angeles.
“We were coming out of the car my son immediately said, ‘Who is that?’ and when I looked over I saw one of them with my kid’s piggy bank,” Ortiz told ABC 7.
The buglers immediately took off after being noticed, but the quick-thinking mom of two wasn’t going to let them get away easily.
She began to chase after the pair, recording them on her phone, as they bolted towards a dark green BMW.
Ortiz — who works as a personal fitness trainer — caught up to the car before they could make their escape, where she used her bare hand to break the BMW’s rear window.
“I saw the guy kind of reach over for something, so I backed up a little bit went around the car and hit the windshield, the window,” she told the outlet.
The thieves sped off after Ortiz smashed in the back window — nearly hitting another driver as they fled with the stolen goods.
When the mom-of-two went to see what was stolen from her home, she told ABC 7 that the apartment was ransacked entirely.
The buglers made off with her jewelry, about $100 in cash, and her son’s piggy bank.
They were also able to pry open the lockbox in her bedroom containing her handgun, which they also stole.
Ortiz said the whole ordeal has left her shaken.
“I feel very violated, very angry,” she said.
During the chase, Ortiz’s son was able to snap a photo of the BMW’s license plate, which the family hoped would help bring the thieves to justice.
However, after turning over the photo to the police, it was determined to be a stolen plate that did not match the car.
While they still remain at large, Ortiz said she’s “grateful” that her family is safe and wasn’t home when the thieves broke into their apartment.
“It could have gone so bad,” she said.
The Torrance Police Department said they are actively investigating the burglary.
“This type of crime is concerning, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of our
community,” the department wrote in a statement.
“We encourage community members to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behavior or activity to the Torrance Police Department promptly.”
A crime analysis report released by the Torrance Police Department in April shows that there have been 86 residential burglaries in the coastal city of Torrance in 2025.
