It happened around 7:00 a.m. in The Willows Apartments on South Springfield Road.
Kowa Zaizay rents the apartment where the home invasion occurred. She believes she and her friends who were visiting out of town were targeted.
Zaizay was spared the ordeal. After the group came home from the Sikira nightclub in Baltimore Avenue, she and her 6-year-old son went to sleep at a relative's unit.
Her friends, however, were not so lucky.
Police say, one friend opened the door to the apartment after hearing a knock. Two masked men then forced their way into the apartment. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun. They demanded money, jewelry, and other belongings from Zaizay's friends.
According to police, the attention of the suspect with the gun was diverted briefly and one of the friends attempted to take the gun from him.
A shot was fired during the struggle for the gun, but the friend was not struck. However, the friend's hand was injured during the struggle.
The suspect then got away from the victims and both suspects fled. One of Zaizay's friends, though, remained in pursuit.
That friend was able to tackle one of the suspects and remove that suspect's sneakers, as the man struggled to get away, according to police.
The suspects then split up. One fled in a nearby vehicle, identified as a gray Nissan Altima, and the other ran in the other direction on foot.
Police discovered the suspect that fled on foot ran to a neighboring laundromat and asked to use the cell phone of a person in the laundromat. Police believe he used it to call the other suspect.
Police say the occupants described the suspect with the gun as a man with a small build and approximately 5'4 tall.
Police believe they may have surveillance that could lead to the capture of the suspects.
