2 Robbers Invade NYC Home, Tie up Mom With Kids Nearby: Police

A New York City mother said that two robbers forced their way into her home and bound her and her two young kids with zip ties last week before ransacking their Bronx apartment.

"When I opened the door he pushed me and he says 'Don't scream, don't scream,' and he pointed a gun at me," said Mercedes Aquiño, speaking in Spanish.

Aquiño said that she was inside her apartment on East 141st Street apartment in Mott Haven on May 5, according to police. They zip-tied her hands and feet and legs and began combing through the apartment.

The mother told the robbers to take everything but not to harm her children, who had locked themselves in a bedroom. 

The robbers broke down the door, she said, and tied them up as well. Aquiño said that after sifting through the apartment she heard them say "She doesn't want to give me the jewelry. I'm going to kill her if she doesn't give me the jewelry."

Aquiño's husband, Ivan Nunez, wasn't home at the time of the robbery. He said he thinks the robbers knew about the $15,000 in jewelry he had at the home. 

In all, the robbers got away with cash, rings, bracelets and necklaces.

The children were not injured in the home invasion, but Aquiño said their sense of security is shattered.

"If their dad is not here they don't want to be here," she said. 

The suspects are believed to be in their 20s.

Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.

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