North Carolina: Family of 5 tortured with hot metal during home invasion: police

Five men approached the family in their garage, forced them into their home and “put a knife and fork on the stove and heated it,” local authorities said.

A family of five in North Carolina was robbed and attacked last weekend in what a local sheriff calls an act of “pure torture.”

On Saturday, June 15, around 2 a.m. local time, a family in western Harnett County was sitting in their garage with the door open when a group of five men allegedly forced them into their home. The men assaulted the family before stealing some of their belongings, according to CBS affiliate WNCN and NBC affiliate WRAL, both of which cited the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office.

Speaking to WRAL, Sheriff Wayne Coats said the five men bound the family with duct tape and began torturing them — placing “a knife and fork on (their) stove” to heat the metal and “stick it to bodies”. family members. “They were trying to get them to tell you where their money and guns were,” Coats said, adding that there were no guns in the home.

The suspects then stole several personal items, ransacked the home, assaulted the children and left with two stolen vehicles, according to WRAL, which says the men left in their own silver or gray Dodge Challenger.

The family is still missing a gray four-door Honda Accord, according to WNCN.

The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Sunday, June 23.

A GoFundMe for the family, shared by WRAL and reportedly organized by the sister of one of the victims, Mayra Morales-Scott, has since raised more than $13,000 of a $15,000 goal. In the fundraising page’s description, Morales-Scott wrote that “words cannot describe the pain and devastation our family is currently experiencing.”

She wrote that “masked intruders” attacked her sister, brother-in-law and the “young children,” adding that their “entire home was trashed” and the family “is now suffering physically, emotionally and mentally.”

“Our extended family and close friends are devastated,” she added. “Their home was vandalized and their peace of mind and safety will never be the same.”

The GoFundMe campaign aims to raise money to cover medical costs, replace stolen items and provide additional support for her sister’s family, according to Morales-Scott. “We ask for your prayers, words of encouragement, empathy and respect for our family’s privacy during this difficult time,” she wrote.

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Jeffrey Miller, who lives two doors down from the family and has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years, told WRAL he “thought nothing like this would ever happen.”

“I’m really sorry for the family,” Miller said, adding that he had security measures installed in his own home.

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