Victims of mysterious Levin home invasion speak out

entered their Levin home.

The youngest brother – a 57-year-old Horowhenua man who did not want to be named – told the Manawatu Standard he was woken suddenly by a medical alarm, about 3am.

He rushed into his mother’s room, and after seeing she was OK, went into the lounge, where his 65-year-old brother slept each night.

Then he noticed the intruder – an unknown man sitting in his mother’s armchair.

The man entered the Bledisloe St home through the front conservatory door, the youngest brother said.

The intruder walked into the lounge and was confronted by the eldest brother, he said.

The older brother is physically disabled – he lost the bottom-half of his left leg in an accident, his younger brother said.

After seeing the intruder, the older brother set off his medical alarm to wake and warn his family.

Both brothers asked the man to leave. He did not. ‘‘I told the guy that the police were on the way and he ripped the phone out of the jack point so I couldn’t use it,’’ the younger brother said.

By this stage, his mother had also made her way to the lounge.

He returned to his bedroom and used another phone to alert police.

As he did so a ‘‘scuffle’’ broke out between the eldest brother and the intruder, he said.

While the youngest brother was not sure exactly what happened, he said the older brother suffered wrist and shoulder injuries.

And, at one stage, the intruder ended up on the ground, the younger brother said.

Adding to the scary scene, their mother, who witnessed the scuffle, suffered a heart attack. The intruder then bolted, after being in the house for about 10 minutes.

Then, the younger brother also suffered heart-attack like symptoms. Both he and his mother have heart trouble and were rushed to Palmerston North Hospital, the younger brother said.

The older brother was released from hospital in the days after the attack. His mother returned home on Tuesday.

The youngest brother said the incident was a ‘‘home invasion’’ and believed the intruder intended to burgle the property.

Police are investigating the incident and are checking CCTV footage for clues.

‘‘I’ve got him on camera. I suggest that he hands himself in before police get him,’’ he said.