Money displayed on social media leads to home invasion, sends father and son to hospital

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A social media post may be the reason why a Hamilton house was the target of an armed home invasion that sent a father and son to hospital last night.

Police said four men pushed their way into the home on Weir Street in Hamilton’s east end just after 9 p.m. The son was shot in the arm and his father was beaten.

CHCH spoke with one neighbour who said the man’s son recently came into some money and flashed that cash online. The neighbour Jim McLachlan described the attack, saying the first man to knock on the door knew the son.

“One young fellow came to the door and and went to get Markus’ son, and then the other three guys broke in and laid a beating on him,” McLachlan recounted.

McLachlan said he spoke to the father, Paul, this morning.

“They told Paul ‘all we want is the money, all we want it the money.'”

McLachlan says he believes the four men plotted the home invasion because of a social media post the son recently made online.

“The young son had apparently sold a car and spread the money out and showed it on the internet” McLachlan said. “That’s where the youngest of the group recognized Markus and that’s what they figured happened that he came down with the other guys to take the money.”

A friend of the family said that both the father and the son have been released from hospital and that both are doing okay.

According to McLachlan the pair has the family dog to thank for their quick release.

“The dog apparently laid a bite on everyone of them” McLachlan said. “Chased them out the door. They didn’t get anything because of the dog.”

The suspects fled on foot and got into a dark coloured vehicle. Police said they believe only one of the attackers was armed with a handgun.

No arrests have been made.