Hero dad fights off machete-wielding teens with ironing board in Ivanhoe East, Melbourne
The father says the terrifying incident has ‘changed our lives forever’.
A Melbourne father has been hailed a hero after fighting off four machete-wielding teenage intruders with an ironing board during a terrifying home invasion in Ivanhoe East.
Four teen boys allegedly snuck into the family’s backyard in what police say was the end of an three-day crime spree.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Brave dad fights off armed intruders at laundry door
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Joe’s wife woke him about 5am on Thursday when she heard noise outside their home.
Joe grabbed his daughter, telling her to go into the bedroom with her mum.
“You close yourselves in, you don’t come out until I open the door,” he told them.
‘It’s on here’
Armed with machetes, the intruders rushed away but then returned to the laundry door, where Joe confronted them.
“I didn’t realise it was them banging at Dad. And that’s when I realised, like, OK, it’s on here,” Joe’s daughter told 7NEWS.
The terrifying ordeal brought back traumatic memories for Joe, who was attacked 25 years ago.
“Three masked men apprehended me, tied me up, gaffer-taped me, bashed me and robbed me,” he said of that nightmare.
But this time would be different.
“My first thought was, no one’s going to touch my girls tonight,” he said.
The four intruders eventually fled the property.
“That’s when he collapsed and had a full panic attack. And we didn’t know what was going on. So mum is screaming on the phone, call an ambulance, call an ambulance,” the daughter said.
Police arrived minutes later and launched an investigation into what they described as an attempted aggravated burglary.
Later that night, the mother of the family was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, suffering chest pain from a panic attack.
After four hours in emergency care, she returned home.
“The upside is that both my girls are here today,” Joe said.
Police arrested four boys aged between 14 and 15 about 20km north of the home in Mernda.
All were remanded in custody at a children’s court on Friday.
Despite the arrests, Joe expressed frustration about youth crime consequences.
“There’s no punishment for the crime and they’ve changed our lives forever now,” he said.
Originally published on 7NEWS
