16/06/2003

Armed gang kidnap Strabane family

An armed gang held a family hostage in their Co Tyrone home and forced a man to hand over the weekend takings from a shop, this morning.

Three masked men forced their way into the house in the Ballycolman area in Strabane and confronted the family.

They than ordered the man, who is the manager of a local video shop, to drive to the shop to get the weekend's takings.

He was told to take the money to a pick-up point after which the kidnappers left the family house.

The man's wife and three children were unharmed during the incident.

Police are investigating the incident.

(MB)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

01 June 2021
Businesses Damaged By Blaze In Portstewart
An investigation has launched after a number of businesses were damaged by a blaze in The Diamond in Portstewart. The alarm was raised at 5am on Monday, however fire crews were called back at around 9.30am. A chip shop, coffee shop and hairdressers were damaged as a result. An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
24 August 2004
Teenage shop assistant threatened at gunpoint
A teenage shop assistant has been threatened at gunpoint during a robbery in west Belfast. The 16-year-old girl was working in a petrol station on Finaghy Road North when two men, one armed with a handgun and the other with a hammer, entered the station at around 10.15pm last night.
10 August 2001
Belfast lottery winners thank a lucky mistake
A syndicate of care workers from a north Belfast community centre were celebrating on Thursday after winning nearly £20,000 in The National lottery draw held last weekend after having mistakenly filled in the wrong numbers.
21 August 2018
Over 500 Attend Farm First Aid Awareness Training
More than 500 farm family members and employees have attended First Aid Awareness training since March 2018, as part of the Farm Family Key Skills (FFKS) scheme. Up to 100 accidents which need medical attention occur each month on Northern Ireland farms.
26 March 2008
Meat Cleaver Robber Sought
A female shop assistant has been threatened with a meat cleaver during a robbery in west Belfast. A man carrying a cleaver entered an off-licence on the Springfield Road at about 4pm on Tuesday and demanded cash from the till - escaping with an undisclosed sum of money. The woman was unhurt but said to be badly shaken.