Parramatta robbery: Family in shock after ‘random’ attack
The brutal armed robbery of a home in Parramatta has devastated the family of victim Shane Wardle, who say they have no idea who would want to hurt their train-enthusiast father. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
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WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Armed with a hammer and a meat cleaver, two men stormed the home of Western Sydney father Shane Wardle, one of them striking him over the head and fracturing his skull in front of his horrified sons.
The brutal armed robbery of the Wardle family home on Rosehill St, Parramatta, has shocked the family who say they have no idea who would want to hurt their train-enthusiast father.
“He got smashed in the head with a hammer, the kids said they also had a knife or meat cleaver,” Mr Wardle’s wife Karen told The Daily Telegraph. “I think it was just random.”
Police have been told the two men entered the rear of the home through an unlocked door as Mr Wardle, 52, and his two sons, aged 22 and 19, sat in the living room about 5pm yesterday.
They said the men approached Mr Wardle demanding money before one of them struck him over the head with a hammer, fracturing his skull.
The 19-year-old son was also hit on the arm with the hammer and received a minor injury.
The pair ransacked the house, stealing a bag of cameras used by Mr Wardle in his hobby as a train enthusiast, and ran to a silver Holden Commodore in nearby Alma St.
Mrs Wardle said she had been out and returned to see her home taped off as a crime scene and her husband in the back of an ambulance.
“He was conscious, just upset. I said just go, get into hospital and I’ll be there soon,” she said. “I’ve never thought of anyone doing this, we keep 90 per cent to ourselves.”
She said her husband would miss the cameras.
“(They took) a camera bag, he keeps four or five digital cameras in there. It took forever for him to go and save up and get them,” she said.
“He loves train spotting, it gets him out of the house, he goes away with his mates for a day or two.
“He won’t be able to do that now.”
She said the attack was a devastating blow for her husband who had suffered three strokes, the last one two years ago.
“This will set him back health wise because he was doing really well after his last stroke,” Karen said.
Mr Wardle was rushed into emergency surgery at Westmead Hospital to drain some of the bleeding in his head last night.
Parramatta police have done a forensic sweep of the home and begun their search for the two burglars.
They were described as being of slim and medium build, of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander appearance in their 20s and 30s.
One was wearing a grey hoodie and long black pants, the other a grey hoodie and long black pants.
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