Police are searching for the person who pistol-whipped a nanny in front of a young child during a home-invasion robbery in Orinda, California.
The suspect first contacted the nanny around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when she was raking leaves in front of a home on El Castillo, near El Nido Ranch Road, Orinda Police Chief Mark Nagel said.
The nanny, who speaks limited English, was also waiting for Karen Yim's 5-year-old daughter to return from school when the suspect walked up to her. The suspect said something to her, but the language barrier prevented the woman from understanding, Nagel said.
Once the girl returned home, both she and the nanny went inside. About 10 minutes later, the suspect returned, kicked in a door, brandished a gun and demanded money, Nagel said.
"They walked through the house going drawer-to-drawer upstairs and downstairs looking money, and at one point the suspect pistol-whipped the nanny in the head, causing a laceration," Nagel said.
Yim said the nanny was released from the hospital and is doing OK.
Nagel said the attack on the nanny took place in full view of Yim's young girl.
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"She is doing fine, a little startled and scared," Yim said of her daughter, who was not injured.
The suspect took iPads, cash and the family's 2012 black Porsche Cayennne, which has the license plate 6VMK320.
"We need to find that vehicle, whether someone is in it or its abandoned," Nagel said. "There may be evidence in that vehicle."
Nagel said there have been three home burglaries in Orinda in the past few days, including one caught on surveillance camera. The chief added the city's proximity to Highway 24 as an escape route makes it an attractive target.
Tuesday's attack is the first where someone was home, Nagel said.
"This is supposed to be a safe neighborhood," Yim said. "But you just never know."
The suburb east of Oakland ranked no. 2 on a 2012 Forbes list of friendliest towns.
Police said the suspect faces charges of home invasion and burglary. Charges of kidnapping and carjacking may be added as well, police said.
