Man slashed with knife during home invasion
A father has been slashed across the face with a knife during a violent home invasion in Melbourne's northwest.
The victim, in his fifties, was attacked after he and his son chased the two would-be burglars from his Essendon home.
Police said the bandits dropped a set of car keys and found themselves cornered as they tried to escape in a stolen car.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Prowse said: "The man then got out of the car and started swinging wildly.
"He produced a yellow stanley knife and this caught the father of the household, caught him across the forehead."
Paramedics treated the man, in his fifties, for a minor facial injury before taking him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Police said the victim's wife was confronted by the intruders, a man and a woman, in the kitchen of their Woolley Street home, shortly after 7am this morning.
Neighbours reported hearing yelling and screaming.
One resident told 7News: "It was all very blurry if you can imagine. We were at the back of the house and I heard yelling and screaming.
"That's the only reason I went outside. I went to the window first to have a look and saw a person running off. That was really about it."
Dozens of police, including the doq squad, swarmed the area.
The suspects were soon spotted at a convenience store in Ascot Vale.
An 18-year-old woman from Maidstone and a 26-year-old man from Footscray were found with allegedly stolen credit cards, jewellery and electronic equipment.
A search of the stolen Falcon revealed some high caliber bullets.
An off-duty policeman spotted the car being driven erratically about 15 minutes before the break-in.
The victim suffered considerable blood loss, but avoided serious injury.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
