MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Tucked into a Moon Township neighborhood, a couple in their 60s believed they were safe inside their home of 23 years.
“At first it was really hard they weren’t eating. They closed the restaurant down for a few days, but they are trying to stay strong,” said the couple’s daughter.
This woman is detailing the days following a break-in at her parents’ home. The windows smashed and all their valuables gone.
“It was horrible, just shock. It really hit my mom hard; she ended up in the hospital from a panic attack and anxiety and shock,” she told Channel 11.
The couple owns a local Asian restaurant and police believe that’s why their home was hit.
“My detectives are looking most likely at an organized group that is going around targeting Asian business owners,” said Moon Township Police Chief Greg Seamon.
Seamon said 22 homes in Pennsylvania this year were targeted, and Moon Township was just one for this theft ring. He told Channel 11 similar cases are being investigated in Mt. Lebanon, Hopewell Township and Ross Township.
“You’d never think here in Pittsburgh let alone our township. It’s just shocking and that there are 21 other families, and we haven’t heard a thing,” the daughter said.
That’s why she’s speaking out. She wants answers for her parents and to warn other families of Asian descent who own a business to be careful.
“We’ve heard Air Tags being placed in the wheel well and that’s how they can track where you live. Maybe they would be at the restaurant and watching seeing who leaves last and say ‘hey that could be the owners, let’s follow them.’ People just need to be more aware,” she said.
There are numerous cases just this year of Asian business owners being targeted in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Jersey. The FBI in New Jersey even put out a warning to Asian business owners this summer as a warning with the uptick in targeted thefts.
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