Woman, grandson safe but terrified after Frankford home invasion

FRANKFORD (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police say a woman and her grandson hid under the bed covers as thieves bound her husband and ransacked the couple's Frankford home.

Both the woman and her grandson spoke with Action News, hours after it happened in the 1300 block of Sellers Street on September 30.

"I didn't see them," said Alice, who didn't want us to use her full name. "I just heard a voice in the living room saying, 'Where is the effing car?'"

Alice, 52, was woken from her sleep. It was 3:30 a.m. when she heard three men break into her Frankford home.

Click here to watch the surveillance video

"I was in the bed and heard commotion in the living room," she said. "I didn't get out my room. I just told my grandson to stay under the covers."

As they hid under the covers, police say two of the robbers woke up Alice's 51-year-old her husband by putting two guns to his head.

They tied his hands behind his back with electrical wires and gagged him with a shirt before they started ransacking the house.

And then one of the suspects walked into the bedroom where Alice and her 10-year-old grandson were hiding. They pretended to be asleep.

"I peaked out," said the boy, "and he looked at me, and he went back out and said something."

Lying in his bed, the boy noticed the man wasn't wearing a mask.

"He was on the cell phone," said the boy. "He had a black shirt on and light blue jeans. I didn't see his face though."

In the end, the thieves made off a 56-inch television set, two gaming consoles, a laptop, car keys and a pair of kids sneakers, and about $200 in cash.

The good news is that no one was hurt.

"I have four kids," said Alice. "I have 13 grandchildren. We all live close by."

Only one of the children was spending the night on Tuesday.

Usually, Alice said, she has three staying with her - and one almost always sleeps on the couch, right near the television set.

That grandchild would have been directly in the path of the men who broke in.

So despite feeling shaky and fearful Wednesday morning, Alice told us she is still thankful.

"Thank God that everything is okay," she said. "Thank God that we are all okay."

Police said there are multiple surveillance cameras in the area and hope the video recordings will help lead them to the suspects.

They are also asking anyone with information about the crime to contact them.