The police in Northern Ireland have revisited the scene of a “despicable, vicious and prolonged attack” on a family in north Belfast.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detectives and local police officers stopped cars and carried out house-to-house enquiries in the Lansdowne Road area on Sunday evening, exactly a week after the original attack.
Det Insp Michael McDonnell said that four masked persons, who he believed had been armed with a knife and a handgun, forcefully entered a property on Lansdowne Road at about 9.30pm on Sunday, December 15th.
“The attackers then spent some time ransacking the property and assaulted the male occupant,” he said.
“The attackers then forced the male occupant into a white Ford Transit van and a female occupant into a red Mercedes SUV.
“The victims were then held and driven around for a period of time, before both vehicles were left parked up in the Ardoyne area.
“At this point, the male victim was able to free himself and raise the alarm. The female occupant of the other vehicle was subsequently located and freed. She was understandably terrified, but physically unharmed.”
Det Insp McDonnell said that as part of their ongoing investigation, “detectives and local police stopped cars in the area to speak with motorists and pedestrians and renewed house-to-house enquiries to ensure every possible piece of information about the incident has been captured.
“While I would like to thank those people who have already come forward to provide information, I am still appealing for anyone who was driving in the Lansdowne Road, Taunton Avenue area between 9pm and 11.30pm who has recorded dashcam footage, to contact Detectives urgently at Musgrave police station on 101, quoting reference number 2004 15/12/19.
“Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100 per cent anonymous.
“Any information, no matter how small or seemingly irrelevant, could potentially be of great significance and help us to identify the criminals responsible and put them before the courts,” he said.
