.png){kind=small}
Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass has admitted no longer feeling safe in Los Angeles — where she is running for mayor — after two men were busted for stealing guns from her home.
“Angelenos all around the city are not feeling safe,” the 68-year-old California lawmaker told Fox 11 late Wednesday.
“I did feel safe until my safety was shattered, like so many Angelenos,” she said of the troubling break-in Friday at her home in Baldwin Vista.
“My safety was shattered,” she repeated.
Her own ordeal does not change her policies while running for mayor, she said, noting that she “thought from the beginning that the number one job of the mayor is to make sure that Angelenos are safe.”
“And in many neighborhoods, people don’t feel safe. They would like to see an increased presence of police officers,” she said, adding that “we need to get officers on the street as fast as possible.”
Her rival in the mayoral race, billionaire businessman Rick Caruso, shared a similar message as he expressed sympathy to Bass for the “violation.”
According to the Los Angles Times, Caruso told a campaign event Tuesday that it is “happening way too much in the city of Los Angeles, and we need to fix that.
“We need to prevent crime and reduce crime in the city. So I’m sorry it happened to her.”
Bass recalled coming home and finding her “house in disarray,” telling Fox 11, “It was very traumatic.”
The crooks only took two guns, which she said were registered and locked in a safe box hidden in her closet. Cash, electronics and other valuables were left behind.
She revealed that two men had been arrested — later confirmed by the LAPD — and had “no idea” why they had targeted her. “I don’t know if it was random or what,” she said.
Her own ordeal does not change her policies while running for mayor, she said, noting that she “thought from the beginning that the number one job of the mayor is to make sure that Angelenos are safe.”
The LAPD later announced that Juan Espinoza, 24, and Patricio Munoz, 42, were arrested on burglary charges after being stopped in a car seen driving away from the residence.
Both men remained in custody Thursday under aliases they gave cops. Munoz was being held on a total of $600,000 bail, while the younger suspect was held without bail, court records show.
It was not immediately clear if the congresswoman’s stolen guns were recovered.