Two young children in Hermosa Beach escaped harm after a man allegedly broke into their family’s home early Monday, June 8, then holed up inside before officers moved in and arrested him. Police reported no injuries to the family, and the kids were found safe.
Police say
Officers were called around 2:45 a.m. to a house on Manhattan Avenue on a report of a burglary in progress, according to MyNewsLA. The residents told police they believed the suspect had gotten inside through a window, while their two children, ages 5 and 3, were upstairs.
Investigators say the man ran toward the children’s room and at one point briefly opened the front door, then barricaded himself inside the home. Officers forced their way in, searched the house and found the suspect on the second floor, where they took him into custody, according to MyNewsLA.
Crime patterns and context
The Hermosa Beach Police Department’s NIBRS report logged 71 burglary and breaking-and-entering cases in 2025, down from 91 in 2024, according to the Hermosa Beach Police Department. So the trend is moving in the right direction, but officials across Los Angeles County have been warning about more organized burglary crews that use tactics like hidden cameras, Wi‑Fi jammers and targeting second-floor windows, a pattern highlighted in coverage of a recent law-enforcement press conference by Realtor.com.
That broader backdrop helps explain why smaller beach cities sometimes call in neighboring departments when a residential break-in is unfolding in real time.
How the call played out
Hermosa Beach officers requested help from the Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo police departments, while the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department set up a perimeter and had a helicopter circling overhead, according to MyNewsLA.
“The well-being of those two children was our first priority from the moment we got the call,” HBPD Chief Landon Phillips said in a statement.
What residents should know
County officials have been urging homeowners to hardwire security cameras, lock up ladders and safes, and avoid posting vacation plans in real time online. Those steps are meant to make life harder for organized crews, according to enforcement efforts detailed by Realtor.com.
Anyone who noticed anything unusual in the Manhattan Avenue area around 2:45 a.m. is asked to contact Hermosa Beach police through their non-emergency dispatch line at (310) 524-2750 or use the contact options listed on the Hermosa Beach Police Department website.
