Dallas Police have stepped up their patrols in an Oak Cliff neighborhood in case masked gunmen come back to the home they ransacked and robbed Monday afternoon.
Three masked men terrorized the family, and kidnapped 10-year-old Nicholas Fierros for several hours, before letting him go.
Police believe three masked men targeted the house, thinking there was large sums of cash hidden away. Officers don't know who the men are or why they targeted the house.
Janet Cabrales, 14, hid in her father's bedroom closet with her 7-year-old brother and 10-year-old cousin Nicholas. A gunman discovered their hiding place and kidnapped Nicholas, first wrapping him in duct tape.
"They put me like in the truck they were driving, then they take the tape off. I saw the black masks. Then they put me like behind a house where no one lives, then they take the mask off," Fierros said.
Police haven’t identified any suspects, but they say they’re working several leads.
No one in the house got a clear look at the suspects. And no one saw the car the men drove away in.
Family members are worried the gunmen will come back.
The 14-year-old showed NBC 5 where she hid during the attack.
"The men kicked in the door and I saw the one with the gun point it at my mom's head, saying where's the money, where's the money," she said.
"I grabbed the phone, and this is where I met my little brother, right here," she continued, walking down a hallway and then continuing into a bedroom closet.
"I'm right here, my little brother is right here, I'm telling him not to cry, that everything will be okay, everything will be okay. And you could hear everything, crying, slamming. I was just very terrified," she said. "The horror and the scaredness took over my brain."
Police believe the kidnappers targeted the house thinking there were large sums of cash hidden away. Police also believe they kidnapped the boy out of anger and frustration when they couldn't get any money.
Cabrelas also finds it suspicious that one of the robbers knew exactly where to go to find a hidden gun hidden in a closet.
"The gun was hidden right there, and they threw everything down. They threw everything down, and went right for that gun, like they knew that's where it was," she said.
The robbers found 10-year-old Nicholas Fierros in the front of the closet.
"I heard them say the cops are coming, grab the kid and lets go," the 14-year-old cousin said.
They wrapped the boy in duct tape, and briefly kidnapped him.
"Maybe they didn't find the amount they wanted to, or they were just mad? I don't know," she said.
Police say the robbers dropped off Nicholas on a Dallas street last night in the rain. The child was wet and hungry, but unhurt.
Even though the family is unhurt today, Janet Cabrales says she doesn't feel safe.
"I'm just pretty scared, I don't know what's going to happen next. They know I live here, they know what's going on, they know the cops are looking for them," Cabrelas said.
Police are stepping up patrols and detectives are trying to see if any nearby businesses or restaurants have any surveillance video that may provide new clues.
Samuel Cabrales is Janet Cabrales father, and Nicholas Fierros' uncle. Fierros lives in Grand Prairie but would often spend summer days hanging out in Dallas with family members.
During the hours-long kidnapping ordeal, Samuel Cabrelas says the kidnappers texted him, demanding that he get the police to back off.
The first text was sent at 4:30 p.m.: "Tell the police leavd"
Then 19 minutes later, at 4:49 p.m.: "Tell helecoper leave now"
Dallas Police say they're investigating the number that sent the message but said they wouldn't go into more specifics, citing the ongoing investigation.
“How did these armed criminals get your number?” NBC 5 asked Samuel Cabrales.
"I don’t know," he answered. "I don't know them. But it's possible they know me."
"I don’t got no enemies. I don’t know who got my phone number," he continued.
Cabrales works as a contractor and often pays sub-contractors in cash, he said. He gave police a few names that officers "may want to look at" as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, he too is worried the gunmen will return.
"I feel scared because if I don’t if they’ll come again to my house and do something. I mean the police haven’t found them yet. And they broke my door, so they know the door is broken." he said.
