Tweet
Burglar stabbed to death: Father and son arrested on suspicion of murder
- 'Householder, his son and his son's girlfriend' are arrested
- Officers found stabbed man after 'Gang' dragged away following 999 call
- Police say case will be investigated 'within legal framework as it stands'
- Shami Chakrabarti: Cameron law could be 'recipe for vigilante executions'
The fact that an innocent and hard working father and son have been arrested on murder for protecting their family home is a disgrace. If you break into somebody's home you leave your rights at the point of entry. No person should be punished for protecting what's theirs.
What do the government, police, and human rights campaigners expect people to do? Sit there patiently while criminals ransack their homes not knowing whether they are going to be assaulted, raped, or even killed.
You don't know how an intruder is going to act when they break into your home. They could be a harmless young teen, merely trying to fund a drug habit, or a mass murderer looking for a family to butcher. The simple truth is that a home owner can't take any chances and must resort to any means possible to protect what's dear to them.
Staunch liberals like Shami Chakrabarti would have whole families destroyed for the sake of protecting the rights of those criminals who abstain from society and have no intention of doing good. As a population we can't let that happen. If legal force is brought down on the heads of this innocent father and son, then I will do what ever I can in protest.
- 'Householder, his son and his son's girlfriend' are arrested
- Officers found stabbed man after 'Gang' dragged away following 999 call
- Police say case will be investigated 'within legal framework as it stands'
- Shami Chakrabarti: Cameron law could be 'recipe for vigilante executions'
A father and son were being questioned by detectives last night after a suspected burglar was stabbed to death as he broke into their family home.
The death comes only days after David Cameron vowed to protect the rights of homeowners to defend their property.
Peter Flanagan, 59, and his son Neil, 27, were asleep upstairs when four masked men forced their way in through the back door of their terraced home.
They awoke and confronted the gang and during a violent struggle one balaclava-wearing intruder was stabbed.
His three accomplices helped him as he staggered 200 yards before collapsing.
Alerted by a 999 call from the Flanagan household shortly before midnight on Wednesday, police dashed to the scene to find the intruder lying in the street in a pool of blood.
The 26-year-old suspected burglar, who has not been named, was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police returned to the £120,000 two-bedroom Victorian home in Salford and arrested Mr Flanagan, a garage worker, his son, a builder, and Neil’s 21-year-old girlfriend.
They were in custody last night, being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder. Earlier this week, Mr Cameron said: ‘My mission is to make sure families can feel safe in their homes. The first duty of government is to protect people.
‘We will put beyond doubt that homeowners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted.’
But Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said: ‘This is a problem not of law but the public understanding of it.
‘Of course people facing intruders can use reasonable force to defend themselves.
‘But saying that “burglars leave their rights at the threshold” is a recipe for vigilante execution and mistaken killings of family members returning home after dark.’
Asked about Mr Cameron’s comments, Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan of Greater Manchester Police said: ‘I would tell people to ring the police and use reasonable force, but I don’t want to enter into a legal debate.’
Mr Flanagan’s wife Valerie, who moved out of the home in 2000, was not at the property at the time.
She said: ‘It’s such a terrible incident. How anything like this can happen to anyone I don’t know. My husband is a great man and a great father – it’s such a shock.’
Neighbours in the quiet cul-de-sac described the Flanagans as a ‘lovely family’.
Mr Flanagan helped Neil run a construction company in Manchester until it was dissolved in 2007.
One neighbour said: ‘They’re just a normal family and I would never have expected in a million years that they would have been caught up in anything like this.
‘I’ve known the young lad Neil since he was born and I’ve known the family for years.
‘If what people are saying is right then I think it’s perfectly understandable if Neil and his father stood up against a gang of burglars. I would have done the same thing to protect my own family.’
Sylvia Sharpe-Cadigan said: ‘We were asleep when suddenly we were woken up by a lot of noise.
‘Normally we would have heard the family’s dog barking but sadly it died last week and its possible the burglars may have known that.
‘There were four police cars outside. I came down and said to the police, “What’s going on?”
He said, “There’s been a break-in”.
I said, “Is anybody hurt?” and he said, “That’s all I can say”.’
Another neighbour said: ‘We’re such a close community around here.
'It’s just so upsetting. Everyone is really surprised and shocked. We all try to support each other.
'Neil is my mate and he’s a hard-working normal young guy. His dad is an honest bloke that has lived in the area all his life.
'Neil is not the type of guy that would do something like that. He’s a working bloke. He’s just a normal person.’
Mr Mulligan said: ‘This is a shocking incident and a man has lost his life.’
He confirmed the dead man had suffered at least one stab wound. He added: ‘I can’t say if he was armed. We are particularly interested in tracing the three males with balaclavas.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1QH1s14qo
The death comes only days after David Cameron vowed to protect the rights of homeowners to defend their property.
Peter Flanagan, 59, and his son Neil, 27, were asleep upstairs when four masked men forced their way in through the back door of their terraced home.
They awoke and confronted the gang and during a violent struggle one balaclava-wearing intruder was stabbed.
His three accomplices helped him as he staggered 200 yards before collapsing.
Alerted by a 999 call from the Flanagan household shortly before midnight on Wednesday, police dashed to the scene to find the intruder lying in the street in a pool of blood.
The 26-year-old suspected burglar, who has not been named, was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police returned to the £120,000 two-bedroom Victorian home in Salford and arrested Mr Flanagan, a garage worker, his son, a builder, and Neil’s 21-year-old girlfriend.
They were in custody last night, being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder. Earlier this week, Mr Cameron said: ‘My mission is to make sure families can feel safe in their homes. The first duty of government is to protect people.
‘We will put beyond doubt that homeowners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted.’
But Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said: ‘This is a problem not of law but the public understanding of it.
‘Of course people facing intruders can use reasonable force to defend themselves.
‘But saying that “burglars leave their rights at the threshold” is a recipe for vigilante execution and mistaken killings of family members returning home after dark.’
Asked about Mr Cameron’s comments, Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan of Greater Manchester Police said: ‘I would tell people to ring the police and use reasonable force, but I don’t want to enter into a legal debate.’
Mr Flanagan’s wife Valerie, who moved out of the home in 2000, was not at the property at the time.
She said: ‘It’s such a terrible incident. How anything like this can happen to anyone I don’t know. My husband is a great man and a great father – it’s such a shock.’
Neighbours in the quiet cul-de-sac described the Flanagans as a ‘lovely family’.
Mr Flanagan helped Neil run a construction company in Manchester until it was dissolved in 2007.
One neighbour said: ‘They’re just a normal family and I would never have expected in a million years that they would have been caught up in anything like this.
‘I’ve known the young lad Neil since he was born and I’ve known the family for years.
‘If what people are saying is right then I think it’s perfectly understandable if Neil and his father stood up against a gang of burglars. I would have done the same thing to protect my own family.’
Sylvia Sharpe-Cadigan said: ‘We were asleep when suddenly we were woken up by a lot of noise.
‘Normally we would have heard the family’s dog barking but sadly it died last week and its possible the burglars may have known that.
‘There were four police cars outside. I came down and said to the police, “What’s going on?”
He said, “There’s been a break-in”.
I said, “Is anybody hurt?” and he said, “That’s all I can say”.’
Another neighbour said: ‘We’re such a close community around here.
'It’s just so upsetting. Everyone is really surprised and shocked. We all try to support each other.
'Neil is my mate and he’s a hard-working normal young guy. His dad is an honest bloke that has lived in the area all his life.
'Neil is not the type of guy that would do something like that. He’s a working bloke. He’s just a normal person.’
Mr Mulligan said: ‘This is a shocking incident and a man has lost his life.’
He confirmed the dead man had suffered at least one stab wound. He added: ‘I can’t say if he was armed. We are particularly interested in tracing the three males with balaclavas.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1QH1s14qo
What do the government, police, and human rights campaigners expect people to do? Sit there patiently while criminals ransack their homes not knowing whether they are going to be assaulted, raped, or even killed.
You don't know how an intruder is going to act when they break into your home. They could be a harmless young teen, merely trying to fund a drug habit, or a mass murderer looking for a family to butcher. The simple truth is that a home owner can't take any chances and must resort to any means possible to protect what's dear to them.
Staunch liberals like Shami Chakrabarti would have whole families destroyed for the sake of protecting the rights of those criminals who abstain from society and have no intention of doing good. As a population we can't let that happen. If legal force is brought down on the heads of this innocent father and son, then I will do what ever I can in protest.
Comment