Shots fired during overnight Cape Coral home invasion, DCF involved

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Police are still searching for two suspects after shots were fired during a home invasion Monday night.

Officers responded to a call on the 900 block of SE 27th Terrace at about 9 p.m. The person who contacted authorities said they saw several subjects with flashlights break the rear screen door of a neighbor’s home before entering the residence, police said.

There were 10 people, the youngest a 5-year-old, in the home when the armed men broke in. One teenager who lives in the home said she was about to begin a board game with friends when the two men entered her house.

“It was wild. I wasn’t ready for it. They came through my door and threatened me, my friends and my family with their guns asking for money,” she said. “My parents came out. My dad got them to get out of my lanai.”

The suspects sped off, according to neighbors, but not before firing several shots at a car in the driveway.

No injuries were reported, but three children were in the home when the break-in occurred, so the state Department of Children and Families was notified as is standard procedure, police said. The teenage girl said those children were also interviewed by police.

Police said the home invasion was not random, but an attempt to get back stolen or borrowed cash.

“Investigation revealed that two males, who were known to the victim, forced their way into the house with guns, demanding money that was owed to them,” police said in a statement. “The two suspects left the house and fired rounds into the hood and rear quarter panel of victim’s vehicle that was parked behind the house.”

The teenage girl said she knows the suspects and called them “drug dealers.” She said she met the pair through mutual friends.

“I didn’t know what the whole situation was. I didn’t know why they thought I had their money,” she said. “My house is not a drug house. We are a sober family and we were just trying to have some fun. There was a mix-up, I guess you could say.”

The break-in was an isolated incident that does not pose a threat to the community, officers said.