Gunmen invade Texas home and kidnap couple in front of their five children

Two assailants forcibly abducted a Texan couple at gunpoint after breaking into their residence, leaving their five young children behind. The victims, Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, aged 38, and Ricky Zuniga, aged 37, were ambushed in their Mission Bell home on a Wednesday morning, as reported by the Daily Mail.

According to San Antonio Police Officer Ricardo Guzman, the suspects forcibly entered the couple’s home, breached the door, and then compelled the adults to accompany them before fleeing the scene. Responding to a call around 6 a.m., the police arrived at the residence and discovered the couple’s children, all under the age of 17, unharmed.

Officer Guzman stated, “We located five juveniles inside the house. No injuries, they were unharmed.”

The children informed the police that their parents had been abducted by unidentified individuals who forcibly placed the couple into a white SUV and departed, as relayed by law enforcement to KENS 5.

Currently, no motive for the kidnapping has been disclosed.

While authorities initiated efforts to locate the missing parents, friends and family turned to social media to convey their hopes and prayers for the safe reunion of Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga and Ricky Zuniga.

Ida DeLeon took to Facebook, urging everyone to join in prayer, saying, “Please everyone in the name of Jesus Christ we need prayers for my family/best friends Ricky and Samantha Zuniga! We all need them to come home safe!” 

She further expressed her profound shock, stating, “This morning was so hard to believe that this had really happened! My heart broke for you and the kids! Please Lord, bring them home safe and sound for their children especially. ”Man if anyone knows ANYTHING LET US [KNOW], ain’t no rest til these two, Ricky and Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga come home.”

“God, I’ve come to you less than a handful of times in my life for something I really, really loved or needed, but this right here, PLEASE IN THE NAME OF UR SON JESUS watch over my brother ‘n sister and just bring them home.”

He later wrote: “I [know] y’all story don’t end like this, ain’t no f–king way! So I’m just patiently waiting on that phone call.”

“We have no idea where they were taken, and the police and FBI are investigating,” shared a woman who goes by the name Mujer Fiera on Facebook, identifying herself as Samantha’s cousin.

San Antonio police are currently urging neighbors to provide any surveillance footage they may have, which could potentially shed light on the identity of the kidnappers and the direction in which they fled.

“Detectives are currently investigating this incident as a kidnapping and the investigation is ongoing,” Guzman told the San Antonio Express-News.