Couple Targeted Three Times by Armed Intruders, Hire Guard for Safety
A terrified couple in Brisbane, targeted twice by armed intruders, took the desperate step of hiring a security guard to ensure their safety—only to be targeted a third time. Thankfully, this time the guard frightened off the would-be thieves, protecting Elena and John Parolin, both aged in their 60s. John lives with a disability and is immobile.
Fear and Resilience in the Face of Repeated Attacks
The couple say they are now too scared to sleep after being targeted by masked thieves for the third time in the past two months. Their children are desperate for them to move. "They said 'Mum, it's the third time and we don't want to lose you or dad'," Elena said. But the couple are refusing to be forced from their home. "Why should we be made to move? It's not fair," Elena added.
On Tuesday morning, a group of people were seen running toward the couple's door before the security guard set off an alarm and yelled at them. The group then ran back to a car and drove away. This latest incident follows a terrifying attack just last week when about four armed offenders broke into the couple's home and threatened them with a gun.
Details of the Previous Break-In and Injuries
The couple were asleep upstairs in their Skyview Ave home in Rochedale, in Brisbane's outer southern suburbs, when they heard a loud bang about 5.15am on Monday, March 31. With John immobile, Elena went to investigate alone and found four intruders ransacking their home. In security camera vision captured from inside the property, the young men can be heard saying "get the gun, get the gun, shoot her shoot her" before blood-curdling screams ring out.
Elena was injured when one of the intruders grabbed her phone to stop her calling police—slicing her finger open with a knife and fracturing the bone. "I just felt that I was going to lose my life this morning," Elena told 7NEWS at the time.
Community on Edge and Security Measures
On Wednesday, Elena and John told Sunrise they were thankful they had beefed up their security before Tuesday's attempted break-in but admit it is not a permanent solution. "I'm very grateful we have put in the security to monitor but it's not sustainable," Elena said. "It's only for a period of time. We're all very on edge, the whole community."
Police Arrests and Charges
Five teenagers have been arrested after multiple property crime incidents in Brisbane's south and the Gold Coast, police said on Wednesday. Police alleged the group gained access to a Tosti St home in Bundall and stole a black Mercedes-Benz about 2am, before the car was seen at several more break-ins and attempted break-ins a few hours later. This included a break-in at a Coutts St address in Bulimba.
About 10.44am, police said the black Mercedes rammed a police car on Stephens St in Upper Coomera, before it was intercepted nearby on Reserve Rd and its five occupants taken into custody. The charges include:
- A 16-year-old Park Ridge boy charged with seven counts of burglary.
- A 17-year-old Browns Plains boy charged with 18 counts of burglary, eight counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and one count of fraud.
- A 17-year-old Upper Coomera boy charged with three counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, two counts of burglary, and one count of obstruct police.
- A 14-year-old Pimpama boy charged with 10 counts of burglary, four counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and one count of fraud.
- An 18-year-old Oxenford man charged with 17 counts of burglary, two counts of robbery, and one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage, and attempted robbery.
All were refused police bail and will appear in court on Wednesday.
