A shocking robbery in Fullerton, California, has left a couple violated after being followed home from a jewelry store. The frightening ordeal, which unfolded in the driveway of veteran Orange County doctors Vijay Wali and Jyotika Wali, was caught on video, raising alarm about the safety of the suburban community.
The Walis had just finished a shopping trip to a jewelry store in Cerritos on Friday night. Their journey home was closely monitored by thieves in a dark van and a white car - the latter dropping off suspects before the robbery, according to ABC7. Within moments of arriving, the couple was brutally accosted. "He shoved me, he punched me in the head, he shoved me in the car and then threw me on the floor," Vijay Wali told ABC7. At the same time, Jyotika Wali was attacked by a second suspect. "I turn back and go to the garage and I'm pounced on by somebody who takes my purse, my bags, everything and throws me on the floor," she recounted to ABC7.
The couple's daughter, Priyanka Wali, shared the harrowing security footage on social media showing her parents' white Tesla being tailed by a black Honda Odyssey with tinted windows. The KTLA report highlights that the Odyssey continued to trail the Walis until they reached their home.
During the aggressive encounter, the robbers made off with jewelry and ancestral heirlooms, including dejhoor - long earrings with unique hexagon pendants symbolizing marriage. The daughter, Priyanka, explained to KTLA, "They took my dejhoor, my mother's and my grandmother's. I mean, that's ancestral jewelry that's been in our family for so long and it's priceless." The Fullerton Police Department confirmed they are actively investigating the crime but did not immediately release any further information.
The Walis are now grappling with a violated sense of security. "I'm still shaking. It is nerve-racking and it should not happen to anybody," Vijay Wali expressed in his statement to ABC7.
