NH Family Fights Off Armed Home Intruder
LONDONDERRY (CBS) - A Londonderry, New Hampshire family got the fright of their lives when an armed home invader made his way into their second floor bedroom wielding a knife.
"All of a sudden I could see a silhouette of someone wearing a black ski mask and black clothes," said Mark Lesieur.
He and his wife Laura Jean had just gone to bed, but thought something was wrong when their dog Angie started barking. The intruder made his way through an open glass slider on the first floor.
"He told me to lie on the bed face down and do what I tell you to do," said Lesieur.
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports
Laura Jean said she started screaming as the man stood about five feet away. She said it was like a dream and it took her a few seconds to focus on the fact they were not alone in their room.
"I sat up to get my glasses and he said, 'don't reach for a gun', and I said, 'I don't have a gun, what do you want. We don't have anything'," she said.
Mark Lesieur said he didn't know if the intruder was just intent on robbing the family or something more violent.
"I thought he was going to kill us. No question if someone has a knife you don't know what their intent is," he said. Their 24-year-old daughter opened the door to her bedroom across the hall which suddenly distracted the intruder who ran toward the door as she barricaded herself inside.
That's when Mark Lesieur made his move, wrestling the masked man down the stairs. He had grabbed the knife in the scuffle which sliced his hand and cut the tip of a finger.
The intruder took off telling the family he just wanted to get out, facing a family offensive he likely didn't expect.
"You always fight until your last breath. Once they take control there's nothing else you can do," he said. By then Laura Jean had called 9-1-1 and the intruder knew police were on the way.
Why their home in the quiet neighborhood of townhouses was targetted, they don't know. Laura Jean said she had seen a stranger walking around the neighborhood earlier in the night, and they had made eye contact.
"This intruder has violated my home," she said. Police say they have no suspects at this time.
