Running search for two little boys

“His parents are also understandably immensely relieved,” he said.

Bilal Wally.

“As I said today, any incident of this nature in which children are taken from a property is concerning for the police and it is certainly concerning for the community at large as well.

“The four in custody will be interviewed tonight and we will continue to work to piece together exactly what happened.”

Earlier Monday, Detective Inspector Thomas said the mother was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

“We are currently talking with the mother of the two children, and also with the father, and they are both cooperating with us and doing everything possible to help us locate the children,” he said. “They are very distressed …”

The mother told police that she did not recognize the man who assaulted her and did not let him into her home.

The armed assailant was described as having dark skin and wearing a dark-colored hoodie and surgical mask.

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas of the Armed Crime Squad.Credit:Joe armao

Inspector Thomas said the children’s father, employed in the construction industry, was working when the home invasion occurred.

He said investigators were working on the premise that it was not a random attack but an “isolated affair”, with no other crime reported in the area. The reason is unknown.

Nearby residents said they weren’t aware of what happened until the mother crawled out of the house.

Blackburn North resident Chloe Krakouer witnessed the incident Monday morning. Credit:Chris hopkins

Chloe Krakouer said she was driving by with her mother around 8:50 a.m. when she saw a woman lying tied and gagged in the driveway.

Krakouer said a man appeared to be helping the woman and that police arrived seconds later.

“She was on the ground in the driveway. She seemed hysterical, ”Ms. Krakouer said.

“We saw a lady on the fringe of nature and they tied her mouth, hands, feet and everything …”, he said.

“She was just screaming; there was a man with her helping her. We were worried, wondering what was going on. “

Forensic teams spent hours at the scene, removing items, including a phone. The children’s toys and bicycles could be seen strewn across the front yard of the white wooden house on Monday afternoon.

Police patrolled the nearby area and asked anyone traveling in the Blackburn North area beginning at 8 a.m. Monday to check any dashcam footage they might have for the car.