Father and son remain in critical condition after 'completely unprovoked' masked men attack

A teenager and his father are in critical condition in hospital after they were assaulted in their own home by masked men in a “completely unprovoked” attack. Officers were called to a house in Thurnby, Leicestershire, in the early hours of Thursday following a report that two masked men had entered and attacked the occupants. The 15-year-old and his father, a man in his 50s, remain in hospital in a life-threatening condition following the attack, which happened just before 12.30am at the property. The boy’s mother and the man’s wife, a woman in her 40s, suffered minor injuries to her hand and shoulder during the incident and has since been discharged from hospital, while three other children who were in the house were not injured. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The force said armed officers were deployed to the scene but the masked men had left before they arrived. On Friday afternoon, a forensic investigation vehicle was seen outside the cordoned-off address in Station Road, with a police officer standing guard. Detective Inspector Lorna Granville, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said the attack appears to have been “completely unprovoked”. Officers are now working to try to understand the motive. DI Granville said: "This was a violent attack against a family in their own home which appears to have been completely unprovoked. "Our investigation to understand what happened and why, and identify those behind such a horrific criminal act, is going to continue over the weekend. “I’m making a direct appeal to people in Thurnby and the surrounding communities to come forward with any information if they haven’t already done so. We owe it to the victims to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice. "I’d like to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious, unusual or untoward in the area of Station Road and Somerby Road between 11pm on Wednesday and the early hours of yesterday morning. "This includes anyone who was driving in the area and captured anything on a dashcam, or anyone with CCTV or doorbell footage. Anything you’re able to provide, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, could help us." ### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS - Food making giant fined nearly £600,000 after two workers suffer scald wounds at Melton Mowbry site - Thuggish robbers whipped and tortured victims then 'humiliated' them on TikTok - Leicester mother, 47, kidnapped at gunpoint in Africa is freed after daring rescue mission Several residents living near the scene said they were too scared to speak to the media about what had happened, but they described feeling unsafe. A man, who did not wish to be named, said he woke up in the middle of the night to see police and ambulance lights flashing. He said: "We’re really frightened and very concerned, and we’re concerned for the people and all the children that were witnessing it. "They’re very nice people who keep themselves to themselves and (are) good neighbours." Another neighbour told LeicstershireLIve: “It’s frightening to see. You really don’t expect something like this to happen outside your home. "You hear of burglaries and car thefts but nothing as extreme as this. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer family, as well. "I do still feel safe here, I mean, we even have a weekly newsletter that lets us know what’s happening, so it’s truly shocking.” A major incident portal has been launched by the force and information can be submitted at mipp.police.uk/operation/33EM26I90-PO1. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter