Woman calls 911 after hearing intruders in attic crawl space, police say

FREEPORT, Pa. — It was a concerning call for help to 911 dispatchers in the middle of the night on Monday.

“The caller was advising she could hear somebody in her attic,” said Chief Christopher Fabec of the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department.

Southern Armstrong Regional police were dispatched to the Laneville section of Freeport Borough around 4:30 a.m. Investigators said three intruders, believed to be armed, were found inside of an apartment building on Main Street shortly after one of the neighbors moved out.

“We kept hearing a lot of banging going on, a lot of running up and down the steps,” said Marlo Troup, who lives nearby. “We thought it was the cleaning people, but obviously it was not the cleaning people.”

Police found one of the men in an attic, above the vacant apartment. The chief told Channel 11 there was a language barrier, but the man was able to tell police he was with two others.

“Through some translation, they initially told the officers they were armed,” Fabec said.

Once inside, officers found a small hole that dropped into an apartment from the crawl space. That’s where they found the other two men. Police said all three men were in the United States illegally and had active warrants. They are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs.

Police worked with the superintendent of schools to delay pickups at bus stops so Freedom Area students could get to school safely.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW