Police revisit scene of "vicious and prolonged" attack on Belfast family

Q Radio news

Police have revisited the scene of a "vicious and prolonged" attack on a family.

Four masked persons, who were believed to have been armed with a knife and handgun, forcefully entered the property on the Lansdowne Road on December 15.

The attackers then spent some time ransacking the property and assaulted the male occupant, police said.

Detective inspector Michael McDonnell 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."

Detectives and local police stopped cars in the area to speak with motorists and pedestrians and renewed house-to-house inquiries to ensure every possible piece of information about the incident has been captured.

The detective added: "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''

He added: "This was a despicable, vicious and prolonged attack on a local family.

"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."