Victims recall bizarre Forest Park home invasion that led to an hours-long police standoff

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Twenty-four hours after police said two people broke into a Forest Park home, forcing out the owners, FOX 12 learned that the suspects are no strangers to run-ins with the law, and the victims of this terrifying home invasion are sharing their story.

The couple tells FOX 12 the hours-long police standoff on Monday really shook up this normally quiet area. But from this scary experience, they say it’s also brought their community closer together.

A husband and wife said they were in their Forest Park home on Monday morning when they noticed someone on their property just after 11 a.m.

“We’re both yelling at him, you get out of here,” the wife said.

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The couple said they received a bizarre response, which turned into an argument.

“The guy said ‘this is my house.’ And we said, ‘we’ve called 911 and the police are on their way.’ And he said ‘good, they’re going to get rid of you, I’m going to call the police.’ And I said good, ‘you call the police,’” the wife said.

And then said he disappeared for a few minutes but returned, and this time he wasn’t alone.

“He and his girlfriend were in our master bathroom, and she was kind of crouched down on the floor tending to the dog. They had a dog with them,” the wife said.

And said that’s when the man threatened the couple, telling them to leave their home.

“He was just screaming at me and he said ‘if you think, you get out of here, and if you think things are bad now, they’re going to get worse,’” the wife said.

The couple said they spent the next six hours with police at the command center nearby as officers tried to contact the intruders.

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The hours-long police standoff shut down a stretch of Northwest Skyline Blvd. between Germantown and Springville Road for most of the afternoon.

But what’s maybe more remarkable about their story is the victims said they have empathy for the people responsible.

“There’s all sorts of drug, mental, physical, financial problems,” the husband said. “We as a society are facing and we don’t have a solution.”

“I feel so sad for Portland is how I really feel,” the wife said.

And said they’ve received an outpouring of love and support from the community.

“It was a wake up I think for not only us, but all of our neighbors who have called in and stopped by, and new neighbors we have met,” the husband said.

The couple said they later learned from police that the intruders may have been sleeping through part of the standoff in a drug-induced state.

They also did want to mention how grateful they are for all the police officers and teams who kept everyone safe.

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