Caught on audio: 9-year-old girl calls 911 as burglar breaks into her Orange County home

A 9-year-old girl is being praised by law enforcement officials after her brave 911 call helped save her family’s Orange County home during a burglary attempt.

The Westminster Police Department released the audio recording of the call on Monday.

“There’s someone breaking into my house,” the girl is heard calmly saying at the start of the call.

It was at 5:53 p.m. on April 3 when the 9-year-old called 911 from a cell phone, reporting that a man was trying to break into her home through a downstairs window.

Police said the girl was upstairs while she told dispatch about the burglary attempt as it unfolded at her house, located in the area of Magnolia Street and Bolsa Avenue.

“They broke the window,” the girl is heard saying.

As the dispatcher, identified as WPD dispatch supervisor Kristen Kannard, continued to ask the child more questions, a knock was heard from the child’s end of the call.

“They’re knocking on the door,” the girl says.

Calmly answering Kannard’s questions one by one, dispatch learns that there is a man inside the home, estimated to be in his 30s, and that the girl’s family is downstairs.

“So your family is downstairs and you’re upstairs?” Kannard then asks.

The audio from the girl’s side of the conversation isn’t fully clear in the recording, but it sounds like she replies to Kannard, saying, “Yes, please help me.”

“Is your mom there?” Kannard asks. “Can I speak to your mom or dad?”

“No, I’m really scared,” the girl seems to reply. “I hear them coming upstairs, I don’t really know what’s going on.”

Kannard asks what the girl can hear or if she’s in a position to be able to tell dispatch what the suspect is saying.

“I heard him kicking the door,” says the girl. 

Soon after, other members of the girl’s family are heard in the background of the call.

“I called the police! I called the police already!” the girl is heard saying to someone off the phone. “I locked the door.”

As the call continues, it becomes clear that someone else in the girl’s family has also started reaching out to dispatch.

“My partner is talking to your sister and we have officers arriving, okay honey?” asks Kannard. The girl replies, “Okay,” as the call starts to come to an end.

“Good job, okay?” says Kannard. “Okay,” replies the girl, and they both say bye as the call ends.

In a press release, the police department explained that the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Jorge Mendoza Diaz of Westminster, had smashed through a window and entered the home.

The girl’s dad was in the kitchen at the time, police said, and confronted the suspect. The father then pepper sprayed Diaz and dragged him out of the home.

Police said Diaz then fled the scene, jumped a fence into a nearby residence and hid in the backyard.

Thanks to the young girl’s bravery, the Westminster Police Department said officers arrived on the scene within three minutes of the initial call.

Officers established a perimeter, found Diaz in the neighbor’s backyard, and took him into custody without further incident.

“The Westminster Police Department applauds the brave actions of the nine-year-old victim, who called 911, remained calm, and provided vital information to dispatchers, significantly contributing to the timely apprehension of the suspect,” WPD said.

Diaz was arrested for residential burglary and trespassing.

Within the department’s statement, Chief Lenyi said, “I am very glad that the actions of both the nine-year-old and her father were such that kept the situation from possibly becoming much more serious. Based on her performance, I invite the nine-year-old, when she grows up, to become a member of the WPD as either a police officer or dispatcher.”

Officials said this attempted burglary appeared to be an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing threat to public safety. 

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Westminster Police Department at 714-898-3315. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or online at www.occrimestoppers.org.