Home invaders flee after angry reaction
A YOUNG couple’s defence with a baseball bat during a terrifying suburban home invasion by a gang of armed teenagers has been caught on dramatic CCTV video footage.
The brazen house robbery, carried out by four youths of African appearance carrying hammers, was the ninth home invasion in just 16 days in what would appear to be a Melbourne crime wave.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Gavin Fry and his fiancee Leah Meurer were asleep in their house in the suburb of Kings Park.
It was just before 1am when four males aged in their teens and wearing hoodies kicked down the couple’s back door.
Two entered the couple’s bedroom and, shining a light on Mr Fry and Ms Meurer, said “give us the money, give us the money” and demanded they hand over their car keys, Nine News reported.
Mr Fry fended off the two youths, who tried to fight him back, from the bedroom and the couple managed to barricade themselves inside.
As Mr Fry dialled 000, Ms Meurer had her body weight against the door while the gang began to smash it with a hammer.
Mr Fry grabbed a baseball bat and, with “fear and shock turned to anger”, decided “I’m going to get them out of my house”.
Chasing the youths down the path, he saw them prepare to steal two cars. Mr Fry approached the driver’s side of one and bashed at the window with his bat, which broke.
When the robbers took off in the cars, Mr Fry went back inside to help his fiancee, who later broke down as they waited for police to arrive.
Mr Fry told The Australian he and Ms Meurer were “traumatised, we don’t feel safe staying in the house”.
The latest wave of home invasions began on February 14 when a man had a knife held to his throat as a gang raided his apartment in Albion.
In a second attack in Albion at 1.30am on February 27, a woman had a knife held to her throat while she slept by her son.