Parkhurst family in midnight horror attack

A Parkhurst family, victims of a midnight break in and armed robbery, suspect that they were watched and targeted beforehand. Five armed men broke in to the Cockburn's 3rd Street home 3 weeks ago, bound and gagged the mother and asked where the 'young girl' was. Fortunately, the 18 year old daughter was sleeping safely upstairs.

The robbers wanted guns and the safe, neither of which the Cockburns own. They ransacked the house and found jewellery, which they pocketed.

"The first I knew of it, the robbers had already been terrorising my wife for at least an hour and a half," said Paul Cockburn. The thugs grabbed Cockburn in the study and one of them stabbed him in the head. "I screamed as loudly as I could," said Cockburn, "and they ran out of the door and jumped over the wall, disappearing into the night."

Cockburn's screams were so loud that people returning home after a night out a block away heard them and came to see what was going on.

Before long, ADT arrived, and afterwards the SAPS, four carloads of them. Cockburn says 4 cars full of cops was overkill, and wondered why the cops didn't pursue the robbers; they seemed content to take notes.

Parkview police say that it is customary to give chase, and an enquiry will be made in to why this wasn't done.

Neighbours of the Cockburns are undertaking a big renovation to their house, making it easy for their house and others to be watched. Captain Magoai of the Parkview SAPS says that the police are currently carrying out raids on building sites where crime in our suburbs often seems to emanate.

The Cockburns have subsequently put up an electric fence and have paid for an armed guard to patrol their street.