Logan family tells of terror at being held at knifepoint before gunman blasts down front door

The family of a Logan businessman has told of the sheer terror at being held at knifepoint in their home before a gunman blasted down their front door to escape. Watch the video.

A Logan mother has told how her family home was turned into a house of terror during a late night raid this week when three young men, armed with knives and a gun, stormed the property before shooting down the front door to escape.

The 44-year-old woman held back tears as she told how one of the men held her at knifepoint, while another searched downstairs, where her elderly father was resting, and while her three young daughters were upstairs.

Her father, 72, a retired businessman and convenience store owner, was forced to hand over his wallet and phone before being marched upstairs into a bedroom where the thugs detained the mother, an aunt and later the woman’s three young daughters.

Three young men jumped the 2m fence to escape when the woman’s husband arrived home. Photo: Contributed

“It took a few minutes for me to realise what was happening but when I saw the knife I thought our lives were in danger,” the mother said.

“The man kept yelling ‘where is the money, where is the jewellery, where is the safe’ while pointing a knife at me.

“I told him I don’t have any money or jewellery and there is no safe — and told them to look for themselves and take what they wanted.

“But they were not interested and were ransacking the house.

“At one stage, I heard my father calling the neighbours for help and I thought they were going to kill him – I was terrified.”

Police cordoned off the house after a bullet was fired through the front door from the inside leaving the wood shattered from the outside. Picture: Judith Kerr

The mother, who does not want to be named for fear of retribution, said she grew more fearful when she heard one of the men on the veranda near where her daughters had been hanging out washing.

One of the men, who was holding the shotgun, forced the girls into the front bedroom with the rest of the family, telling their mother “don’t worry, we will not hurt the kids”.

The family then endured more than 15 minutes of sheer terror as the armed trio scoured the house while threatening the elderly man.

A bundle of plastic ziplock bags, used for lollies, caught the attention of one of the men, who yelled out he had found something worth stealing and the family thought the ordeal was about to end.

Packages of ziplock bags that are used for lollies. Picture: Judith Kerr

But the mother said the men started to get more aggressive and when the man with the gun could not open the front door, she was forced at gunpoint to help.

“The door was always unlocked and I could not understand why it was not opening but it seemed to be stuck,” she said.

“The man was yelling at me to ‘open the door or I’ll shoot’ and then he blasted the door from the inside.

“It was not until after he fled through the front door that I realised it was my father who had been holding the door from the outside so they could not escape.

“My father escaped being shot by millimetres – and is lucky to be alive.”

The woman said her husband’s arrival in the front driveway had also helped to deter the thugs.

A car was stopped in the driveway blocking the trio’s escape. Picture: Contributed

He had stopped his car in the driveway and noticed the two young men with knives race across the front yard and scale a fence carrying a shopping bag.

Seconds later, the gunman had also fled across the front yard and over the 2m fence and electric gate.

The mother said she had been left emotionally scarred by the home invasion which had threatened her and her family in the house they bought in 2008.

“I never believed this would happen in this house, which is close to a police station and has a 2m-high brick fence and an electric gate,” she said.

“I was robbed three times when I worked at a convenience store in Springwood but I never believed that I would face such terror in my own home, which I believe to be very secure.”

The house was declared a crime scene and cordoned off while police took fingerprints and statements.

Police are appealing to anyone who lives near Bryants Rd at Loganholme and who may have heard a loud disturbance on Monday, January 15 just after 9pm.