Parked in the driveway of her south Sacramento home, Nai Saechao was confused to hear a strange man's voice yelling at her, then terrified to see a handgun pointing in her direction.

She said she was distracted – talking on her cell phone and fussing with groceries – when she pulled up to her house on Ring Drive that July night. She failed to see the two men who would flee seconds later with her purse, her roommate's medications and her sense of security.

She didn't know it at the time, but she had become the first in a series of 13 reported armed robberies targeting Asians, primarily women, exiting their cars between 9 p.m. and midnight.

The attacks, some of which have involved minor injury to the victim, have played out in driveways across the city's southern end.

Sacramento police have launched a campaign to warn the Asian community to be on the alert when getting out of their cars at night, even when they might think they're in the safety of their own driveway.

"We want to prevent this community from being victimized further," said Officer Konrad Von Schoech, a department spokesman.

Though the number of assailants has varied between one and three, all have been described the same way: African American men in their early 20s, wearing ski masks and armed with a handgun, Von Schoech said.

They have fled on foot, on bike or in a car.

Saechao was the first known victim, robbed July 29. The most recent attacks occurred Saturday, a half-hour and two miles from each other. In some cases, police believe the victims were followed home.

On Tuesday, three men beat and robbed an elderly Asian couple inside their Rock Creek Way home, just a block from Saechao's. On the way to their getaway car, they swiped a 78-year-old Asian woman's purse.

Police do not believe those suspects are responsible for the driveway robberies. But their crimes could be part of a larger trend of violence aimed at the Asian community in south Sacramento, officials said.

"We really don't know (why they're being targeted) and that's another concern," Von Schoech said. "Maybe they feel that the Asian women are more vulnerable and less resisting."

Sgt. Norm Leong, who supervises a team of officers focusing on these crimes, said police are reaching out to churches and other fixtures in the Asian community for help in spreading awareness. Fliers are being produced in several Asian languages and will be distributed soon, he said.

On Tuesday night, Leong's team worked a south Sacramento intersection with a two-fold mission: Citing errant drivers and telling the lawful ones to be aware of their surroundings.

Leong encouraged residents to call police when they notice suspicious activity in their neighborhoods, especially at night.

"If they feel somebody might be following them, keep driving and call the police," Leong said.

Pan Her, a 23-year-old employee of the Longchang Market on Franklin Boulevard, was alarmed to hear of the series for the first time Wednesday.

She said she already tries to be careful when out at night because "south Sacramento is prone to crime."

"I always have my key out" for protection, Her said.

Some of Mai Xiong's friends had warned her of the robberies, and the 36-year-old south Sacramento resident said it was a good reminder to stay vigilant when coming home in the dark.

"When I pull in, I always watch both ways," Xiong said. "I don't know who's going to be out there."

More than a month has passed since Saechao's ordeal, and the petite Hmong immigrant can now recall it with a big smile and a shy giggle.

But she said she remains shaken and fearful.

News of Tuesday's attack on Rock Creek Way – within eyesight of Saechao's home – has heightened her feeling of vulnerability, she said.

Saechao said she turns the other way when she sees men who remind her of those behind the gun that night.

She worries that her street doesn't have enough lights and tries to get home before dark.

When she can't, she relies on her car's high beams for security.

"When I come home and it's dark, I turn on the high lights," Saechao said.

"I see everything before I come out."

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.