A 21-year-old man has been left with serious injuries after four masked intruders armed with machetes and a firearm smashed their way into his home in Sydney's west. The violent home invasion unfolded on Fairmount Street in Merrylands, where the offenders broke into the property and partially severed the victim's thumb during the attack.
The terrified man's family members, including an eight-week-old baby, were forced to witness the horrific ordeal. "It would have been very scary, very horrific for them," Granville Police Chief Inspector Rick Agius said.
After the attack, the four men escaped on foot to a waiting getaway car, with one of them heard bragging: "I got the money!" However, police say they are not aware of what has been stolen or if anything was taken at this time.
The crime is eerily similar to another home invasion in Greenacre on Saturday, when four masked offenders broke into a home and stole cash from a safe before slicing off the hand of an innocent 23-year-old man. Despite the similarities, police do not believe the two attacks are connected.
The victim is known to police, who believe he has been targeted for a reason. Investigators are still working to determine why and have not ruled out potential links to organised crime. "There's always trouble on Fairmount there, police raids and stuff like that, shootings and stuff like that," resident Angelo Vitaly said.
The street was the scene of a shooting at the home of notorious crime boss Rafat Alameddine seven weeks ago. "Because we haven't been able to speak to the victim, we haven't been able to establish any connection at this stage," Agius said. Investigations are continuing.
