Family attacked in Toronto home invasion say calls to 911 not answered

Members of a Toronto family are speaking out after a horrifying and rude awakening. Two of them were attacked when a group of five males entered their home near Finch and Don Mills Road just after 3 a.m. on October 13. 

“They used a brick to smash through our glass front door and entered the home,” said one of the residents, who asked not to be identified fearing for his safety. “When I woke up after hearing the commotion I opened my bedroom door where I was faced with an intruder who immediately started punching me in the face.”

His wife’s father, who was sleeping in the room across the upstairs hallway, was also attacked and left with several bruises that required medical attention.

The family says four other masked intruders were downstairs ransacking their home.

“They were throwing everything around, pots, pans. A computer was smashed,” the resident told us. “We had our wallets. We had designer bags, designer shoes all out in the open and they didn’t touch a single thing.”

The group was looking for something else.

“All they kept shouting was, ‘Give us the car keys. Give us the car keys.’”

They meant the keys to the family’s 2023 Mercedes Maybach, which was parked in their driveway. A vehicle the family patriarch — an immigrant — only recently bought.

“My father-in-law has worked so hard in his life, he came here with nothing and finally was able to afford such a car,” the resident said. “You hear of car thefts and having a home broken into, but to the extent of the intruders coming and attacking is something that is really shocking to us.”

In 2023 nearly 8,000 home invasions were reported in Toronto, the second highest recorded in the past 10 years.

When asked, police could not say how many of those were related specifically to auto thefts.

This family’s ordeal ended only after the suspects triggered a security alarm which scared them away, leaving without the sought after keys. They were in a lock box — something this family now regrets, warning others to just leave them by the door.

“Had we done that they would have grabbed them and disappeared, possibly avoiding what became a violent encounter,” the man said. “It’s just important to be aware of the risks associated with these high profile purchases.”

The family chose to speak out to voice concerns about the nature of the crime and what they call a broken crime response system. The man’s wife tried calling 911 multiple times during the invasion and after.

“They weren’t picking up,” she told us. “I tried calling using multiple phones and even called my cousin to have her call 911 but nobody got through. If these intruders had been armed, which thankfully they were not, it could have been a tragic outcome. It’s unacceptable.”

That statement is echoed by newly elected TPA president Clayton Campbell, who spoke to The Leader Spirit for an in-depth report we did on 911 response calls earlier this week. While he did not comment on this specific case, Campbell said the issue of calls going unanswered is an ongoing problem.

“It’s absolutely atrocious,” he told us. “Those are top-tier calls, right … and we also had 50 911 calls in pending. That’s 50 911 calls not being answered and it’s an absolute disgrace that’s happening in the city.”

City staff say they are working to address the issue by “improving online tools to reduce non-emergency calls so that operators can focus on real emergencies,” adding a new public awareness campaign on 911 and other services will be launched at the end of the month.

But the family’s concerns go beyond the failure to get ahold of a 911 operator.

“This isn’t just about a single home invasion, but speaks the desperation driving people towards drastic actions,” the woman told us.

While police are still searching for the suspects in the case, the family says based on what they witnessed, the men looked to be quite young.

“They looked like teenagers, so the question is what drives someone that young to do something like this? “ she asked. “We’re entering more and more difficult times that are leading people to take desperate measures. We need to have more emphasis on stronger educational system and supporting youth with meaningful skills and confidence.”

The family says this ordeal has left them shaken. They’ve upgraded their home security and brought the vehicle, purchased less than a year ago, back to the dealership.

“Since the incident, we don’t want it because we just feel unsafe having it,” the man said. “It’s really unfortunate that we live in a day and age where someone works so hard for something and can’t even enjoy the fruits of his labour due to the ongoing surge in auto thefts.”

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