WASHINGTON COUNTY, Minn. (WCCO) – A homeowner in Washington County said her life was threatened during a brutal home invasion on Monday night.
Kaling Wong was alone inside her West Lakeland Township home when two men wearing utility vests rang her doorbell.
When she answered, they forced themselves inside, tied her up, and robbed her at gunpoint.
“As soon as the door was unlocked they pushed it out, I didn’t even have a chance to see their face because they put their hands right in front of me and they dropped me down on the floor,” Wong said.
The men used zip ties to tie her hands and legs. And then one of them put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she didn’t cooperate.
“I was just saying to myself, ‘I won’t be seeing anybody,’” she said. “Because that’s how I feel in that moment. I thought I was going to die.”
While she couldn’t see very well, Wong believes there were as many as four men in her house. They took her from room to room asking for money and valuables.
“They kept asking, ‘Where’s your money?’ Then, ‘Where’s your gold? Where’s your jewelry?’” Wong said.
They eventually left Wong tied up on her basement floor where she managed to call 911. As the owner of a popular St. Paul restaurant, investigators believe the men involved may know Wong and may have been watching her home. While she recovers from physical injuries, she’s trying to put what happened behind her.
“It is not the end of the world,” Wong said. “I could be a lot worse off than I am. That’s how I look at it.”
Wong said two of the men were wearing bandanas, and she believes they had been watching her because they never asked if her husband was home.
Investigators said they also parked their vehicle in her garage during the robbery, and it’s unclear how much money they took.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
