An Auckland man is reeling after armed robbers ransacked his apartment

He described hearing screams as four people broke into the house around 9:45 p.m.

He said the group first went to the garage, where they held a gun to his roommate’s head and threatened her with a crossbow-like weapon.

“She couldn’t say anything… she didn’t even know English, so she didn’t know what they were saying,” he said.

Hoang said two of the attackers led her and another roommate to a small bathroom while the others searched the house for valuables.

Hoang and his father – who had come from Vietnam – tried to barricade themselves behind his upstairs bedroom door.

“We basically just tried to hold the door open… and then I got on the phone and called 111. I said, ‘We’ve got a thief in the house,'” he said.

Speaking to police, Hoang said the attackers broke down his door and demanded money from him and his father.

He said one of them was holding what looked like a rifle.

“At that point I just froze,” Hoang said.

Hoang said the group escaped with a small amount of cash and documents from his room, as well as his and his father’s passports.

He said they also took a gold necklace, bank card and car keys from other housemates, leaving behind a “mess” of broken locks and doors.

Hoang said police arrived minutes after the group left but failed to catch the perpetrators.

Hoang has he started the Givealittle website to raise money for a trip to the Vietnamese embassy in Wellington to exchange his and his father’s passports.

A group of roommates decided to leave the apartment later that month and all moved elsewhere – mainly out of fear of being attacked again.

“I don’t know what will happen if (the thieves) get caught… so of course I feel a little scary,” Hoang said.

In a statement, police said they were still working to determine the circumstances of the incident.

They asked anyone who heard about suspicious activity in the area at that time to contact them.

Police data shows that from September 2023 to September 2024, 54 people became victims of robberies at apartments in Auckland.

– RNZ

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