Robbers bind, gag two girts in house raid

Press, 25 August 1986, Page 9

Robbers bind, gag two girts in house raid

Two teen-age girls were bound and gagged when robbers raided their parents’ home in Bumside on Saturday evening. The balaclava-clad robbers, one with a firearm, fled from the house, in San Raphael place, with jewellery. The girls, who were bound with cord from Venetian blinds and gagged with insulation tape, struggled free at 8.15 p.m., said a spokesman for the Christcurch C. 1.8.

They sought help from a neighbour and telephoned the police.

Their father is a Christchurch businessman whose name has not been

given by the police. The girls, aged 17 and 14, were shocked but not injured. They are believed to have been bound for about 20 minutes.

“We don’t really know the motive,” said the police spokesman. “It is likely that the robbers were looking for cash.”

The girls were at home watching television when the robbers burst in through an unlocked door.

They wore dark clothing, including balaclavas, Army-style jerseys, and jeans. One carried a firearm, possibly a slug gun or pistol, and the other carried what is

believed to be a softball bat.

The pair tied the girls’ hands and feet, and gagged them. They then ransacked the house, said the police spokesman. The girls’ parents were still determining yesterday what was stolen. Most of it was women’s jewellery.

The two girls could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The police have called for help from the public and say they are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who saw suspicious activity in San Raphael Place from about 7.40 p.m. on Satur-

The robbery recalls a similar unsolved hold-up in Burwood in June last year when a middle-aged woman was bound and robbed. A hooded man broke into the home of the woman, also married to a Christchurch business l man, and tied her hands and threw a coat over her head.

He then searched the house, taking a substantial amount of jewellery and cash.

A relative arrived a few minutes later and disturbed the man, who made off through a rear door. The man carried a firearm.