An elderly woman and her two sons have been left traumatized following and aggravated burglary in Roscommon.
It happened at a shop attached to a home in Ballintubber in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Gardai have confirmed an investigation has been launched into the incident.
This violent burglary happened at around 1 o'clock yesterday morning, when 4 men wearing balaclava's forced their way into the property.
The suspects were armed with screw drivers and other implements.
A man in his 60s was attacked during the incident, but was not seriously injured.
It's reported a 94 year old woman and her sons were held hostage in one room while the rest of the property was ransacked by the gang.
The culprits made off with a small amount of cash and some jewellery.
Superintendent of Castlerea Garda Station Tom Colsh has been reassuring the local community:
We're treating this incident extremely seriously
We've set up an incident room at Castlerea and we have members out on the ground making enquires
I will reassure people in our communities and our rural communities that these incidents are few and far between and are not common place anymore.
Gardaí are keen to speak with anyone who was in Ash Park, Ballintubber, between 10pm Sunday and 1am Monday, including people with dash cam video footage.
They're urged to contact Castlerea Garda Station on 094 9620019 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111
Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway, Michael Fitzmaurice, says Ireland needs to stop looking abroad for policing inspiration:
Obviously its a huge shock and our thoughts are with the family first of all.
The problem is when something happens like this in an area not alone is it the family devastated, they may never get over it. to be frank.
It causes a lot of harm in an area with the fear it can cause the elderly.
