NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. — Five armed men broke into a home in a wealthy North Branford neighborhood, tied up the family for hours and threatened to kidnap a 3-year-old boy if they didn’t get money, police said yesterday.
When the intruders left, the homeowner initially could not find his grandson and raced over to his son’s house on the same street to tell him the child had been kidnapped, said Tom Martone, the homeowner’s son.
“My heart started really pounding,” Martone said.
As his wife called 911, Martone said, the boy came walking up the driveway with the other victims. He had been found in a different room than where he normally sleeps.
The home invasion took place in the Northford section of the New Haven suburb, about 15 miles from Cheshire, where a notorious home invasion occurred in 2007.
In that case, a doctor and his family were tied up. Dr. William Petit escaped, but his wife was strangled and their two daughters killed when the house was set on fire.
In the latest home invasion, the five intruders broke into the home through a garage door at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
They fled hours later in the family’s pickup, which was abandoned nearby.
Authorities haven’t located the men, who made off with a shotgun, liquor and other items.