For the past few months, the Si family in Ladera Ranch has faced severe Anti-Asian attacks at their home.

Through Ring security footage, teenagers are seen pounding on the door and blaring flashlights at the Si’s security monitor to prevent themselves from being identified. One kid left pornographic images at their front porch. Other times teenagers threw rocks and yelled racial slurs, insults, and profanities.

The Si family, with three young children, moved into the community in September, and have been facing harassment ever since. Neighbors say the family reported the incident in October, but action has only been taken in the past nine to ten days. 

Homeowner and victim Haijun Si told CBS KCAL9 that sheriffs have come seven times in the past. Sheriffs suggested the family invested in more security measures. Due to the attacks, at the front of their house, the Si’s have put chains on their driveway, fences in front of their front yard, and placed six new cameras throughout the front, but the only method slowing the attacks has been their neighbors’ support.

Neighbors have started taking shifts at night to protect the household so the family can sleep peacefully.

“Very thankful for my neighborhood. We had five peaceful nights, no one knocked on the door, I don’t need to keep watching,” said Si. Quite often, the Si’s will bring out coffee and food for the volunteers.

Neighbors chimed in as well, showing their support for the family.

“I think you can see from the crowd here that we’re not going to stand for this,” said one neighbor to CBS KCAL9.

“There’s a lot of anti-Asian hate crimes going on across the country, this is just another sign it’s happening in a smaller community, Ladera Ranch,” said another neighbor. 

“We’ve seen many attempts already for the teenagers that have come this way. They see us and they turn around. So will this make them stop forever? Probably not, but at least this family can have some peace,” said a neighbor.

Many of the teenagers hide in the hill adjacent to Si’s house. From there, they have thrown rocks at the house, the homeowner, and even neighbors on shift. One volunteer recalls two kids who hid inside of a sewer in the hill, who quickly rode away on their e-bikes once discovered with a flashlight.

Neighbors emphasize that this harassment is not representative of the community, and are deeply saddened as neighbors, parents, and fellow Asian-Americans by the trauma this family is facing.

On February 20th, Representative Mike Levin tweeted on his platform to respond to the situation.

“Racism and hate cannot be tolerated on any level. The rise in violence toward Asian Americans across our country is unacceptable, and it’s particularly disturbing right here in our own community. Everyone deserves to feel welcome here,” said Levin.

In light of this news, activist group CUSD Against Racism is creating “Kindness Baskets” of cards and goodies for the Si family. Students not involved in the task force are able to contribute as well. The activists are also hosting a lantern festival on February 26th, 5:30 p.m., in the parking lot at the Terramor Aquatic Park in Ladera Ranch to stand in solidarity with Asian-Americans in the community in celebration of Lunar New Year.

Allegedly, two teenagers have been identified. Few have come back and apologized to the family after being confronted and understanding the harm in their actions, but most have not. Sheriffs are now taking the case seriously, looking through Ring evidence, taking eyewitness statements, and more to identify the kids.

Neighbors say that to raise awareness of the issue, students need to talk about the issue with parents, friends, and members of the community. To help identify the teenagers, contact investigator Kevin Taylor at [email protected], 949-283-0540, or investigator Andrea Bogdanovich at [email protected], 949-315-5871.