Family thought they were going to be killed during home invasion by axe and machete-wielding robbers demanding drugs
THE victim of a home invasion by axe and machete-wielding robbers thought his family were going to be killed — as the armed thugs demanded: “Where are the drugs?”
Tariq Mahmood, of Rawmarsh Hill, said he, his wife and three children had been preparing to go to bed when they had heard banging on the door downstairs.
He said he had not known what was happening and had been really “shaken”.
Tariq added: “I saw masked men with axes and machetes. They were breaking the door in.”
He said his wife had been able to shut the door upstairs but the raiders had tried to force it open, adding: “All she was feeling was blows of axes and machetes.
“I was trying to get something to face them with. We thought they were going to kill us.”
Tariq said his stepson — who lives next door — had heard his mum screaming and ran to help.
He added: “He confronted them and they started chasing him. They were saying: ‘Shoot him!’
“My stepson said he saw one of them reaching for something that was tucked in his belt. They saw his dog and then ran off.
“All this time, my daughter was hiding and heard one of them shouting: ‘Where are the drugs?’”
Tariq said his daughter had been on the phone with police but the call handler was “awful”.
He added: “She told them she was hiding. She told them robbers were at the door. She told them they had axes and big knives and machetes.
“She told them she thought Mum and Dad were going to be killed.
“The call handler asked her if she could describe the men for them.
“She said she couldn’t and the handler said they wouldn’t get anywhere if she was not going to co-operate.”
Tariq said uniformed officers arrived almost 20 minutes after the raid on February 15.
“They came all the way from Maltby,” he said. “They said they had been short-handed and somebody should’ve come earlier.
“I spoke to other police officers and they said they should’ve sent armed officers. They’ve let us down.”
Chief Insp John Crapper said: “All emergency calls into our control room are graded and reviewed for an appropriate, proportionate, and timely response.
“We understand how callers are experiencing a distressing and frightening time and our response will always be to protect and preserve life and reassure through our presence where possible.
“Armed officers were not deployed as the offenders were reported to have left the scene and it was deemed safe and proportionate for response officers, with their level of protection, to enter and conduct enquiries.”
Chief Insp Crapper said an investigation was under way and appealed for anyone with information to report it via the SYP website or 101, quoting incident 1148 of February 15.