West Midlands Police has released photographs of seven men they want to trace following a terrifying robbery at a Black Country home. An armed gang stormed the Athlone Road property in walsall where they allegedly put a gun to an 11-year-old boy’s head and knife to the neck of a grandmother, 71.
They demanded cash and jewellery and tried stealing cars off the driveway before fleeing on foot with expensive valuables. The family told BlackCountryLive how the terrifying encounter on September 20 had left the victims traumatised.
Now three weeks after the robbery, West Midlands Police (WMP) has issued photographs of seven men in connection with the incident as officers are still appealing for information. A WMP spokesperson said: “Do you recognise these people? We want to speak to them after a group of men armed with weapons entered a property on Athlone Road, Walsall, on September 20.
“A woman and a boy were threatened and items such as cash, jewellery, a watch and some keys were stolen. Anyone who has any information is asked to contact us via LiveChat on our website or call 101 quoting 20/822417/23.”
The family claim the robbers were inside the home for around 11 minutes and came equipped with cable ties. The boy’s father, who was not present, said: “These guys had guns, they put a gun to his head and they put a knife to my mom’s throat, which is his grandmother, then they put a gun to my dad’s head. My son was pleading with them ‘please don’t shoot my grandad, don’t stab my grandma’. He was crying and screaming but they weren’t bothered.”
The boy’s uncle arrived at the property while the intruders were inside and he was allegedly confronted by a number of gunmen who also issued him inside. The uncle said: “They said ‘if you don’t come inside the house quietly, we are going to hurt your parents’.”