Teen's Stabbing A Violent Wake-Up Call For Patterson Family
PATTERSON (CBS13) — A teen is terrified after he comes face-to-face with a burglar, and neighbors are left wondering what is happening to their neighborhood.
The 15-year-old's arm is wrapped in a bandage now. His family is talking from inside their home, but too afraid to show their own faces, fearing retaliation following the teen's encounter.
"It was chaos, and I was glad only to see my my nephew coming out of that mess, running toward me."
The teen was stabbed with his own kitchen knife. The intruder turned it against him before running out the door.
Two suspects were arrested when police arrived just as they tried making their getaway. One was from Oakland, the other, Stockton
The family's ransacked bedroom is still a mess—the smashed-in door, broken file cabinet, and suitcase left behind in haste.
But the bandage-wrapped arm of the teen and his six stitches are the sharpest reminder for this family they no longer feel safe in their own home.
"You can't escape it. You can't escape it.
The family says what was once car break-ins in their neighborhood is turning into home burglaries.
This small city of 20,000 residents, isolated from big-city life, is now becoming bigger. FBI stats show reports of violent crime in Patterson actually dropped between 2011 and 2010, the most recent years available.
But those are numbers that don't hit home in this household, where safety suddenly feels so uncertain.
"The thing is, it makes us more aware. Patterson is going bad."
