Family ‘certainly traumatized’ after armed home invasion in Dundas

Members of a Hamilton family are still recovering after a horrific home invasion this weekend that saw armed men holding guns to their heads in the middle of the night.

Hamilton police are searching for the gunmen while officials across Canada try to come to terms with the wave of auto thefts behind home invasions like this.

The family described a terrifying scene in this home invasion. No one was badly hurt physically but the trauma could stay with them for a long time.

People on the quiet street of Hopkins Court in Dundas are shaken by what happened here in their neighbourhood early Saturday.

“We were asleep obviously and we heard a bang. So when we found out what happened the next day we assume what we heard was the door being kicked in,” the family said.

The family at the centre of this home invasion didn’t want to go on camera, but told CHCH News that at about 4:30 Saturday morning, their security camera caught a pickup truck driving by the house six times.

The pickup stopped and four men with guns broke into the house. They did something to the family dog and took it out of action. The family isn’t sure what.

The thieves then held guns to the heads of the two adult children who were home and tied them up.

Then they trashed the upstairs looking for things to steal and made off with a high-end Audi Q5 S.U.V. and a Porsche 992 costing well over $100,000.

READ MORE: Porsche 992 and Audi Q5 stolen from Dundas home in targeted robbery

Inspector Frank Miscione with Hamilton police says the family was certainly targeted for their vehicles.

“We know that the suspects came up and they were dressed identically. They were wearing dark clothing, dark hoodies, matching gloves and balaclavas. We have a description of early to mid 20s, four black males, that arrived in a dark-colored dodge ram pickup truck,” Miscione said.

This robbery comes as officials across Canada try to deal with a wave of auto thefts in this age of keyless auto entry and remote starters.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada told CHCH News in a statement today that “auto theft is a national crisis affecting communities and innocent victims.”

Their latest figures show Ontario auto theft claims were $700 million in 2022, and they say “auto theft now costs every driver in Ontario an average of $130 a year” in insurance premiums.

The bureau says Canada’s vehicle standards are “badly outdated” and manufacturers should “make anti-theft technology a priority.”

It also recommends individuals install vehicle tracking technology, while people on this street in Dundas are facing this auto theft crime wave head on.

One neighbour said “it’s scary, scary. I had to check my doors twice last night because I was a little freaked out. Yeah, I don’t know. Just unexpected, like just frightening.”

“The family is certainly traumatized. This is not something they would expect to deal with, having guns pointed at them and the vehicles,” Miscione said.

Provincial and national officials are trying to deal with these auto thefts. There’s an auto theft summit coming up in Ottawa on Thursday with police, government and industry officials meeting to find ways to fight this crisis.