A woman climbed to the roof of her home Wednesday to hide from a man who broke into her Venice residence as she was sleeping.
Los Angeles Police responded to reports of a burglar on the roof on the 200 block of Windward Avenue. Officers had their guns drawn during what turned out to be a confusing scene in the neighborhood north of Venice Boulevard.
The woman was half-clothed and curled up on the roof behind a window unit that extended from the rooftop. According to witnesses, some onlookers and police were unsure whether or not she was the burglar, as the woman refused to come down from the roof despite police demands.
"She's up on the roof. I don't know what to think," a witness told NBC4.
An onlooker who was snapping photos as the scene unfolded told NBC4 that as she was photographing the woman who was on the phone on the roof, a "scary" figure popped up on the other side of the roof.
Upon seeing the man, police and onlookers realize the woman on the roof is the victim who is hiding.
"I look and I see my neighbor, my friend up on the roof cowering," neighbor Josh Romano said.
A police officer used a fire ladder to rescue the woman.
Police said that the woman did everything right by calling the cops and trying her best to escape.
The suspect was detained and led away in handcuffs around 7:15 a.m. According to Romano, he had seen the same man in handcuffs an hour prior to this incident.
