Family survives terrifying home invasion

Fremont police are looking for a suspect with rather distinctive features after four members of a Fremont family survived a terrifying attack in their home by a man armed with an assault rifle and pepper spray.

The attack began around 6 p.m. Thursday when a woman in a home on the 4800 block of Porter St. — usually a quiet neighborhood of well-kept homes —  opened the front door to a man who had just rung the doorbell.

Police say when the woman opened the door, the man at the door — who was armed with an assault rifle — sprayed her in the face with pepper spray.

The woman’s husband struggled with the invader, with several shots being fired during the struggle.

The woman and the couple’s children were able to escape the house, with the man eventually also getting out after the struggle.

After the family escaped, police initially thought the suspect may have barricaded himself inside the home.

A SWAT team was called in, police blocked off roads in the area and called in a California Highway Patrol helicopter to help locate the suspect, but he still managed to escape, apparently on foot.

Based on his description the suspect may be easy to spot, though police warn he is  considered armed and dangerous.

Police say he has tattoos above both eyebrows, as well as a bushy, long ponytail, and a goatee. He’s also described as being Hispanic, and about 30 years old.

None of the family members were hurt in the attack, though the two adults were treated for minor injuries suffered from the pepper spray and the struggle.

In an odd twist, the attack on the family took place on the same day a report came out ranking Fremont as the second safest city in America.

In a report out Thursday in the business and technology website Business Insider, Fremont was ranked No. 2 in safety of cities with a population of at least 200,000.

Basing its report on FBI crime statistics, the report noted that Fremont had a a robbery rate 47 percent below the national average, a murder rate 81 percent below and a rape rate 76 below average.