The incident happened Friday around 7 p.m. in the 8100 block of Bradwell Avenue in an unincorporated part of Whittier.
The sheriff's department said three men walked up to a home, claiming to be from a gas company who needed to get inside to check the meters. In surveillance video obtained by our sister station, ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, you see three men: one is wearing a vest, but all three are wearing face masks.
Their ploy didn't appear to work. The residents of the home refused to let them in and closed the door.
After the three men walk away from the home, the homeowners stepped outside to see where they were going.
Suddenly, the suspects turn around and sprint back toward the home, trying to make their way in. The suspect seen wearing a gray hoodie appears to pull a gun from his waistband.
The family quickly ran back inside their home and the suspects never caught up.
No shots were fired and no injuries were reported, but the terrifying incident has shaken the normally quiet neighborhood, including those who were too nervous to speak on camera.
"The neighbors are always looking out for each other ... calm, we've never had to call the police on anybody or seen anything," said a neighbor who wished to be identified only as Analia. "It's a very nice neighborhood."
Joann Villanueva, who lives in the same neighborhood, was left wondering about a man who randomly knocked on her door last week.
"I can't remember if they said they were with solar or whatnot, but they said they wanted to see our [Southern California Edison] bill," she recalled. "I told them I didn't have it."
Much like the residents involved in Friday's incident, Villanueva also did not unlock her door.
"I think with everything going on in the world, I'm just so skeptical," she said. "I don't want to open the door, but he left. It was just one guy."
The family who was targeted Friday night told ABC7 they're still on edge and don't know why the suspects would target their house.
They're hoping surveillance video will help investigators catch the suspects before this happens to someone else.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff's department.