Father, Son Hurt In Violent Santa Monica Home Invasion That Prompts Police Standoff
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) – One man was arrested and a second was on the loose following a violent home invasion robbery near the Riviera Country Club in Santa Monica Friday evening.
Police said two men broke into a $6 million home in the 200 block of 19th Street while a father and son were inside around 6:30 p.m.
According to police, the intruders demanded money. When the victims couldn't come up with what they wanted, the intruders stabbed the father with a knife and attacked his son with a hammer. One relative said the father was stabbed more than 20 times, leaving a pool of blood on the driveway.
"We see the ambulance come out and the mom come out. She's in the passenger side of the ambulance," witness Elizabeth Gross recalled. "She has blood on her hands. She's screaming: 'Pray for him! Pray for him!'"
"We see this guy coming out on a stretcher, and he's covered in blood. It was so bad, we couldn't tell what age he was. And then the mom came out, and she ran over to us. She said: 'That was my son. He got stabbed right here'," Julian Davis said. "She was telling us, and she was crying. It was heartbreaking."
The two victims were transported to a nearby hospital. Both were expected to survive.
CBS2's Tom Wait learned that the father, Imtiaz Tar, is a wealthy businessman and a developer, who keeps a lot of luxury vehicles in his home.
Following the robbery, the suspects fled. One of them barricaded himself in a nearby residence.
SWAT officers were called out, the street was shut down, and nearby residents were told to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed.
Around 9 p.m., officers deployed a flash bang grenade to flush the suspect out and arrested him. The second suspect remained at large.
Police said they found a replica handgun at the crime scene.