A frightening encounter was caught on camera in Pasadena, California as a homeowner scared off a group of would-be burglars.
Surveillance video shows four masked men approaching a home before running off when they were confronted by the homeowner.
"When you think, when you close your eyes, and it's dark outside, that there could be four masked men, a fifth waiting in a car... it's a very, very uneasy feeling," the homeowner said.
The shocking video shows a group of masked men break into the backyard of a Pasadena home --seemingly assuming no one was inside.
The home sits right next to several others in the Upper Hastings Ranch neighborhood that are still vacant while they're being repaired or rebuilt after the Eaton Fire. The homeowner, who asked ABC affiliate KABC to keep his identity anonymous, said he believes that is the reason he was targeted.
Pasadena police said the trespassing/attempted break-in incident was reported around 11:15 p.m. Friday.
The video shows the men, with their faces covered and wearing gloves, making their way toward the house and into the backyard.
The motion lights snap on, and then the security system loudly warns them that they are being recorded and tells them to leave. But they don't.
The men keep walking into the backyard, seemingly unfazed, the video shows.
Inside the house, the homeowner and his wife were watching TV when they heard the side gate slam shut.
The homeowner pulled up his camera feeds, saw the men outside, and decided to confront them -- yelling at the men and turning on more lights. Meanwhile, an alarm inside the house sounded off.
The moment that they realized someone was actually home, they ran. The video shows them sprint out of the yard and back to a car that was waiting nearby.
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"And it was that alarming sound, and my voice screaming and yelling at them to let them know that someone wasn't sleeping. Someone was here, and an alarm was going off," the homeowner said. "Thankfully, they fled."
The homeowner's wife called Pasadena police, and despite officers arriving in minutes, the men were already gone. Police said no arrests have been made and no suspect descriptions are available at this time.
"I'm a 27-year resident of Pasadena, and I've never had this issue. Being woken up and knowing that someone opened our gate is extremely nerve-wracking," the homeowner said. "In the end, when you look at the situation, they received nothing material. But they stole the one thing that is probably most important to me -- they stole my peace of mind."
In the foothill community, the intruders are typically only wildlife. But this homeowner says the Eaton Fire changed everything.
"Many of the homes are still vacant up here... so there's not a lot of neighbors up here. So the visibility is low, and I think at this juncture, since they can see so many houses being built and so many are empty, they thought this was an easy chance to quickly do a run and grab, or worse," the homeowner said.
It's that "worse" scenario that is keeping the couple up at night.
"Absolutely worried that this can happen again, and I think me and the neighbors are going to do everything that we can to make sure everyone knows that we're vigilant, we're going to stand up and we're going to be strong together, Pasadena strong," he said.
The homeowner says this is not the first time something like this has happened in the neighborhood.
He said just six weeks ago, another home in the neighborhood was burglarized while it was undergoing smoke repairs. The man said jewelry and other items were stolen from the home.
ABC affiliate KABC reached out to Pasadena police to ask if the two incidents are related.
