A FOREST Hills family survived a traumatic home invasion uninjured after a gang of armed robbers stormed into their property on Wednesday evening.
Andreas Mathios, Blue Security community and media liaison officer, said a resident walked out of the house to close the door of the car when she was ambushed by three men at around 7.25pm.
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She was at home with her husband and two children, who were not harmed during the incident.
Mathios said the men forced the woman back into the house and questioned her about who else was in the house. They ordered her not to scream and left her in the kitchen as they went into the house.
“Her husband had already heard her screaming and came down the passage where the men ambushed him and held him at gunpoint. They forced him to lie on the floor and ordered him not to look at them.”
“They asked the husband for his car keys, safe and firearm but he told them that he doesn’t have a firearm and that his car keys were at the office.
“The gang then tied up the couple and ransacked the house. The gang took three cellphones, tablets, laptops, hard drives, jewellery and vehicle keys. A neighbour disturbed the gang and they fled leaving behind the television and an empty jewellery box,” added Mathios.
Mathios said a neighbour alleged that a gold VW had been seen in the area earlier possibly staking out the home.
Hillcrest SAPS attended the crime scene.
Easter morning home invasion
In a separate incident, a Gillitts woman was tied up and robbed of cash, jewellery and other valuables by two men armed with knives on Easter morning.
Mathios said two suspects jumped over a perimeter fence to gain entry to the Camps Road property before working through a back door that had been left open at around 11.20am.
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“The robbers accosted the resident as she walked from her bedroom to the lounge. The armed men told her to keep quiet and demanded cash,” said Mathios.
“They demanded that she open the safe from which they removed a wedding ring. They then tied up the resident and searched the house for other valuables, fleeing with cash, a laptop, an iPad, jewellery and two bags. No injuries were reported,”said Mathios.
He urged residents to ensure that security gates and doors are kept locked.
“Even if your doors are open make sure the security gate is locked and that the key is not anywhere in sight nearby. At least this will buy you some time in an emergency as burglars are unlikely to smash open a security gate without making a noise and alerting you to their presence so you can press your panic button,” he added.
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