Looters steal from Pasadena resident’s home, destroyed in last week’s EF3 tornado

By Rosie Nguyen

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    PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) — Nearly a week after an EF3 tornado destroyed homes throughout southeast Texas, some community members are dealing with more issues while trying to rebuild.

Norma Ayala said it feels like every time she moves one step forward, something pushes her two steps back. She claims her Pasadena home has been looted multiple times over the past few days.

ABC13 first profiled Ayala last week when she was reunited with her dog, Coco, who went missing after the storm.

She recalled sitting in her living room with her two dogs when the tornado hit. They braced for cover as the storm destroyed the right side of her home. Miraculously, they survived the destruction.

However, her house of 30 years is completely unlivable. Ayala explained how it was the home where she raised her children and built decades of memories while working for Pasadena ISD as a head custodian.

Family members explained it’s been too dangerous to go inside to retrieve all of her possessions due to the structural damage. Ayala said she was alerted by her neighbor to at least two instances where a stranger was spotted trespassing on her property and stealing her belongings.

Pastor Billy Bernhard, who leads Acts Community Church, where Ayala’s family attends service, said this tragedy feels like reliving some of the trauma from Hurricane Harvey.

“This tornado, for all intents and purposes, robbed them of everything. It robbed many people in our community. Then you hear about the looters coming in and joining right in. It makes you angry,” Bernhard said.

But even during a time when Ayala lost everything, she is still thinking of others.

“What can I say? Nothing. I think maybe (other) people need it more than me. I’ve left everything to God,” Ayala said.

Despite not having insurance, Ayala won’t have to go through the rebuilding process alone. Bernhard said contractors will stop by Tuesday to help her clean up, free of charge.

Ayala shared that her dream would be to one day return and live in her Pasadena home again. Her grandson created a GoFundMe that has raised more than $20,000 as of Monday evening.

Acts Community Church is also holding an outreach event to benefit victims like Ayala. Bernhard said they will have food, games, music, speakers, and prayer on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at 6303 Bramley Drive in Pasadena.

ABC13 is still waiting to hear back from Pasadena about whether they’ve received other reports of looters in the area and if they’ve increased patrols.

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