Horrifying CCTV captured the moment an armed gang put a gun to a boy’s head and a knife to a grandmother’s neck in a terrifying raid where a Rolex, car keys and expensive jewellery were snatched.
The clip shows six masked men barging into a home in Athlone Road, Walsall, just before 12.30pm on Wednesday (September 20).
The gang threatened the family with violence as they demanded cash and jewellery from the terrified victims.
Footage shows the men jumping into a Range Rover before fleeing on foot when “the immobilizer kicked in”.
West Midlands Police confirmed it is investigating an aggravated robbery and has launched an urgent appeal for information.
A man, who said it was his child and parents inside the house, told BlackCountryLive: “My son was there. He was very shook up. He is only 11.
“These guys had guns. They put a gun to his head and they put a knife to my mum’s throat, which is his grandmother. Then they put a gun to my dad’s head.
“My son was pleading with them, ‘Please don’t shoot my grandad. Don’t stab my grandma’. He was crying and screaming but they weren’t bothered.”
The distraught dad said the men grabbed his son and threatened to tie him up and strangle him.
His aunt and the man’s father begged the intruders to leave the boy alone, but the suspects demanded cash.
When the family said there wasn’t any, the robbers yelled “arrange it for us” before going through the grandmother’s handbag, her son said.
The armed robbers had cable ties on them with the boy’s father fearing they would have tied up his family and their ordeal would have lasted “for hours”.
But the man’s brother turned up 10 minutes after the break-in, spooking the robbers.
He said: “They came at 12.23pm. My brother turned up at 12.33pm. They walked him back in the house and they said, ‘If you want to see your parents alive, shut your mouth and get back inside’.”
They ordered him to take his chain and bangles off and give them his car keys.
The boy’s dad said they then tried to steal his 71-year-old mum’s Mercedes, but were thwarted because of the immobilizer.
They also failed to take his brother’s Range Rover and ended up fleeing on foot. West Midlands Police has taken the car for forensic examination.
The man said within a minute of the gang fleeing about 15 to 20 neighbours turned up, having been alerted to what happened on the estate’s WhatsApp group.
He said: “The people actually get there quicker than the police. They didn’t take any cash. They took a Rolex, two bangles, a chain, two pendants. They took my mum’s car keys and my brother’s car keys.
“It has scared my son for life. We went back to my parent’s house this morning and he was scared to go back inside the house. My mom has been awake all night, she says she keeps seeing the same people over and over again.”
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We are investigating an aggravated robbery at a home on Athlone Road, Park Hall, shortly after 12.30pm yesterday (Wednesday) where a group of men armed with weapons entered the property and made threats to a woman and a boy. Property was taken including cash, jewellery and a watch as well as keys to a number of vehicles.
“We are aware of CCTV footage circulating on social media showing a number of men trying to steal a Range Rover from the drive before running off.
“We are in the early stages of our enquiry and would urge people who may have information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101 quoting crime investigation number 20/822417/23.”
