Overview

• At about 1.45 am on July 22, five masked men armed with a hammer, bat, machete and handgun forced their way into a residence on Abbott Street in Merrylands.
• The intruders assaulted 47-year-old resident Joseph Tannous and held his wife at gunpoint as a 13-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman looked on.
• Paramedics treated Tannous for facial injuries and possible head trauma before transferring him to hospital, and no other injuries were reported.
• Minutes after the invasion, Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished a blaze that destroyed a Suzuki Swift at Elizabeth Street in Granville, believed to be the assailants’ getaway car.
• NSW Police have established crime scenes at both sites and are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.