Armed men storm home
A WOMAN and her son feared for their lives when three men armed with guns stormed into their Gowrie Junction home and threatened to shoot the pair.
the 49-year-old woman, who did not want her name revealed, cried as she recalled the terrifying home invasion which happened at their Hillview Crs home at 9.30pm on Monday.
She was having a cigarette on the veranda when an old white van pulled into their driveway. her 20-year-old son was in the shower at the time.
three men exited the van and asked the woman "is Pete there?"
She told them no-one by that name lived there, but they continued to walk towards the veranda.
She did not realise one of the men had walked around the back of the veranda until he jumped the railing and grabbed her.
"I was screaming and the taller man pointed the rifle at me and said 'if you don't stop screaming I'll shoot you'," she said.
She was able to briefly break free, run inside the lounge room and tried to escape through another door but it was locked.
the men caught the woman and forced her face-down on the tiled lounge room floor.
an offender armed with a baseball bat used zip ties to bind her wrists together.
the man armed with the rifle again threatened to shoot her if she did not stop screaming.
the woman's son heard her screams and opened the bathroom door where a man armed with a handgun was waiting for him.
"he opened the door and a man held a handgun to his stomach and said 'don't move or I'll blow your guts out'," she said.
her son slammed the bathroom door shut and exited through a second door.
he ran out of the house and was chased into the yard by the man armed with the handgun.
he was able to jump a high fence and run to their next door neighbour's house for help.
"I could hear a racket coming from my son's bedroom and I thought they were bashing him."
the noise was the men prying a gun safe from a wall.
They stole the safe which contained a .22 rifle, a .303 rifle and ammunition. the trio rummaged through the house and also asked the woman if she had "speed".
the woman ran to her neighbour's house with her hands still bound after the men left.
Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigation is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
the victims did not know the offenders.
