‘My terrified grandson was begging them not to shoot his grandparents’: Grandmother, 72, relives horror moment armed burglary gang burst into family home and put gun to head of poorly 11-year-old boy
- The grandmother said her grandson was terrified and trying to protect their dog
- The gang tried to steal a Mercedes and a Range Rover from the driveway
A grandmother has told how she was cooking lunch in the kitchen when an armed gang burst into her home and held a gun to the head of her 11-year-old grandson.
Vijay Verma, 72, said she thought they were all going to die when the men got into her home in Walsall, west Midlands and threatened her family.
Reliving her terrifying ordeal, Vijay told MailOnline: ‘I opened the door and there was a masked man standing there holding a big knife. I screamed and he said, “Come and give me some money, you are the boss of the house”.
‘It was only then that I saw there were six of them. One was holding a gun to my husband’s head and another had a knife to the throat of my grandson.’
The gang had burst into the detached house on the outskirts of Walsall just after midday on Wednesday after one of them posed as a delivery driver and forced his way in past a carer who opened the front door.
Grandmother Vijay Verma (pictured with her husband Rajinder) said she thought she and her family were all going to die when an armed gang got into her home in Walsall
The gang then rounded up the house’s occupants who included Mrs Verma, her 11-year-old grandson Rohan, who was off school with a temperature, her husband Rajinder (pictured right) who is disabled, his carer who was visiting, her sister in law and an electrician
The armed robbers attempted to steal a Mercedes and a Range Rover from the driveway but failed as both had an anti-theft device installed
Then five other men made their way into the house, each carrying two rucksacks and cable ties.
The gang then rounded up the house’s occupants who included Mrs Verma’s 11-year-old grandson Rohan, who was off school with a temperature, her husband Rajinder, 72, who is disabled and suffers COPD, his carer who was visiting, her sister in law and an electrician who was doing work on the house.
Mrs Verma said: ‘I told them I didn’t have any money. They said I did and made me sit on the setee. They said they would shoot my husband if I didn’t give them everything I had.
‘My little grandson was terrified. He was trying to protect our pug dog Junior. He was begging them not to shoot his grandparents saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry but please don’t kill them”. They even threatened to shoot the dog.
‘Two of them had knives and one had a gun. They had already ransacked the rooms upstairs and taken everything they could including my husband’s diamond ring, his Rolex watch, a bangle and a bracelet.
‘They took away all our mobile phones and they would have tied us up with the cable ties they had if my son hadn’t come home.
‘They already had my car key but they couldn’t start it so they put a gun to my son Amit’s chest, took his jewellery and the keys to his Range Rover.
‘When they could not start that, they all fled on foot in different directions. I have been here over 40 years and never known anything like this. I can’t sleep. It was terrible.
The terrifying moment an armed gang smash their way into a family home by pretending to be a delivery man is captured in shocking CCTV footage
Six men were captured entering the property shortly before 12.30pm on Wednesday
Once inside the property in Walsall, the gang threatened a grandmother with a knife and held a gun to her 11-year-old grandson’s head
‘The gang were all Punjabi. I think they are recent arrivals because their accents were typical Punjabi.’
The family, who run a jewellery business, are an integral part of the local community with son Amit, 36, heading up the local Neighbourhood Watch Group.
His wife Sharon, 36, a beauty clinician, added: ‘These people are very dangerous. For them to hold a knife to a young boy’s throat shows what they are capable of.
‘If my husband had not come home, I dread to think what could have happened. They need to be caught because they are desperate and will stop at nothing to get cash.’
The family said the gang had dropped cable ties and a rucksack as they left and that all the mobile phones were recovered through tracing as they had been discarded.
The terrifying ordeal was captured on CCTV as the six armed robbers are seen entering the property. Once inside the gang threatened Mrs Verma with a knife and held a gun to her 11-year-old grandson’s head, as he pleaded ‘please don’t shoot my grandad, don’t stab my grandma’.
In total a Rolex, two sets of car keys and expensive jewellery including two bangles, a chain and two pendants were stolen from the property shortly before 12.30pm on Wednesday.
They also attempted to steal a Mercedes and a Range Rover from the driveway but failed as both had an anti-theft device installed.
The six armed robbers stole a Rolex (pictured), two sets of car keys and expensive jewellery including two bangles, a chain and two pendants from the property
When asked ‘what do you want?’, the robbers demanded cash – which the terrified didn’t have
West Midlands Police are said to have taken the Range Rover for forensic examination. The force confirmed it is investigating an ‘aggravated robbery’ and has launched an urgent appeal for information.
The father of the young boy said his son was ‘very shook up’.
He added: ‘These guys had guns, they put a gun to his head and they put a knife to my mum’s throat, which is his grandmother, then they put a gun to my dad’s head.’
The 45-year-old said his son was crying and screaming but the gang ‘weren’t bothered’ as they ‘grabbed’ him and ‘threatened to tie him up and strangle him’.
Footage also shows the men leaving the home and getting into a Range Rover on the driveway, before fleeing on foot ‘when the immobiliser kicked in’.
When the family asked the robbers ‘what do you want?’ , they demanded cash. The father said: ‘We don’t have cash at home, nobody has cash these days.
‘They said “arrange it for us”, then they started going through my mum’s handbag.’
Ten minutes after the break-in, the man’s brother Amit turned up in his Range Rover.
The gang are spotted fleeing after they stole a Rolex, two sets of car keys and expensive jewellery including two bangles, a chain and two pendants
West Midlands Police confirmed it’s investigating an ‘aggravated robbery’ and has launched an urgent appeal for information
The distraught man said of the brother: ‘They have walked him back in the house and they said “if you want to see your parents alive, shut your mouth and get back inside”.
‘They said “take your chain off, take your bangles off, give us your car keys”.’
The father believes his brother’s arrival sparked fear among the robbers and led them to flee. He said the gang were equipped with ‘cable ties’ which he thinks were intended to be used to tie up his family and the ordeal would have gone on ‘for hours’ had his brother not turned up.
After the gang fled, around 20 neighbours turned up to help. They were alerted to the incident on the estate’s WhatsApp group.
The father said the incident has ‘scarred’ his son for life. He added: ‘We went back to my parents’ house this morning and he was scared to go back inside the house.
‘My mum has been awake all night, she says she keeps seeing the same people over and over again.’
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: ‘We are aware of CCTV footage circulating on social media showing a number of men trying to steal a Range Rover from the drive before running off.
‘We are in the early stages of our enquiry and would urge people who may have information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101 quoting crime investigation number 20/822417/23.’
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