Bandits target Valencia family twice on Christmas night

- File photo

A Valencia family suffered two violent attacks just hours apart on Christmas night.

The 51-year-old woman told police she went to bed with her family around 10.40 pm on December 25, but was awakened shortly after midnight by loud banging on her door.

Two men dressed in dark clothing, one brandishing a cutlass, made their way into the house and demanded their cellphones, which she handed over. The men began beating a 32-year-old male occupant and dragged him out of the house, where two other men also struck him several times. The assailants escaped in an unknown direction.

Around 4.30 am, a man came to the house dressed as one of the previous assailants and beat the 32-year-old man with a cutlass, inflicting lacerations to his face and head.

Police are continuing investigations into the incident.