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West Hazleton Resident Pistol-Whipped in Violent Home Invasion

WEST HAZLETON — Police are looking for three masked men who broke into a home and pistol-whipped and robbed a man while a 12-year-old child was asleep nea...
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WEST HAZLETON -- Police are looking for three masked men who broke into a home and pistol-whipped and robbed a man while a 12-year-old child was asleep nearby.

Police say the masked men kicked down the door of the home, actually screaming, "policia, policia!" -- police in Spanish.

They were not the police but investigators say it was a ruse perhaps to startle the victim.

Police say it happened along Clay Avenue in West Hazleton around 3 a.m. Thursday. The three men who broke into the home wore masks, dark clothing, and were armed with guns.

They pistol-whipped and beat the man who was inside in a bedroom on the first floor. The robbers also tied him up and asked for money.

The man being robbed told them he didn't have any, so the robbers stole some items from the home and fled.

The victim was able to untie himself, call police, and check on a 12-year-old child who was upstairs in the home sleeping.

The child was unharmed.

Police believe the robbers may have known the victim or had been in the home before, especially because the victim told police the robbers knew exactly where he was sleeping.

The robbers came for money but when the found none, they stole a few items from the home and fled.

 

People who live in this neighborhood say, it is relatively quiet, so they were certainly surprised and startled by this violent home invasion.

"It's a little scary," said neighbor James Fellin. "But I mean, it is happening everywhere. It is happening. It's just the drugs and everything else."

"I want the residents to know that this was a very targeted attack," said West Hazleton Police Chief Brian Buglio. "I don't believe there is going to be somebody running out there on the loose doing home invasions in the area."

Police are still investigating this home invasion but at this point, they do not believe this was drug related. It seems the robber just believed the man in this home who is a truck driver, had money and they came to get it.

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