Freeport family tied up, beaten, robbed

POLICE are investigating a home invasion at Uquire Road, Freeport in which burglars tied up, beat and robbed a couple and their four children early yesterday morning.

Reports said the six were beaten with a gun butt by the intruders and suffered minor injuries to their faces, heads and legs, as well as being robbed of an undisclosed amount of money, two vehicles, cell phones and other items.

At about 2am, four armed men broke in, apparently by prising open a back door, while the family were asleep.

The couple’s sons, police said, are all in their twenties and the youngest is a student of the University of the West Indies.

The burglars announced a hold-up and forced each member out of their bedrooms, then tied them up with cables. and beat them, telling them to keep quiet, and threatened to kill them if they did not co-operate. The burglars ransacked the house , then escaped in two of the family’s cars.

Police said afterwards, one of the sons was able to untie himself and run to neighbours for help. Other villagers were asleep and the youngster had to run a few miles, knocking on the doors of several houses, until someone heard his cries for help.

When Newsday visited the family yesterday, they were still in shock and too traumatised to speak.

Villagers yesterday described the incident as heartbreaking.

“It is sad to know what had happened to this family, this could have been any one of us. They did not deserve this. This man, his wife and children are all humble people in the village. It is a shame what this place is becoming. People see people with things and they don’t know how hard a man may have worked for these achievements,” one villager said, adding that the robbery showed nowhere in this country is safe.

“I would have never thought that in this quiet village of Uquire this would have happened. But I’m thankful they are alive.”

Freeport police have questioned several people, but up to late yesterday no arrests had been made.

Comments

"Freeport family tied up, beaten, robbed"

More in this section