A Massachusetts homeowner is speaking exclusively to NBC10 Boston one day after four teens allegedly invading her home and assaulted her husband and son.
Police say the home invasion happened Saturday afternoon on Howe Street by Adams Avenue. Methuen police caught three of the suspects within minutes on Saturday but the fourth one got away. The State Police helicopter joined a search for the fourth suspect but it was called off after two hours, and the fourth suspect later turned himself into police.
Diane Feugill-Forrester says she woke up from a Saturday afternoon nap to find herself in the middle of a terrifying home invasion.
“I was in bed sleeping and got woken up by the ruckus, but I can’t move fast,” she said. “It just all happened so fast.”
Feugill-Forrester says she watched as four teenagers punched one of her sons in the face multiple times and attacked her elderly, blind husband.
“His arm hit the doorway and everything. He’s been up all night hurting, but he refuses to go to a hospital,” she said. “These kids are sickening. They need to learn. Go get a job. Work for your money like we did.”
She says the four intruders eventually ran out the front door.
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“There’s nothing stolen. They didn’t make it past the top of the stairs,” she said. “These kids have been walking by the neighborhood for the last six months. Same kids. Every day I see them.”
Police are trying to determine a motive for what happened.
“We don’t really have a reason as to why they went to that house, which is why we’re not sure if there’s a previous interaction or if it was a random act,” Scott Lever with the Methuen Police Department said. “If they knew the person, if there was any prior interaction with them — it’s still under investigation, so we’re hoping to find out an answer as to why this person was targeted.”
Although the motive is unclear, Lever says they do not believe there is any danger to the people in the community.
But Feugill-Forrester says she is disgusted. She says it all started when the teenagers tried to rob her grandchildren on the front steps and then forced their way through the front door.
She says she has a message for the teens who invaded her house: “Become a man. Don’t pick on elderly people and little children. Become men.”
The four suspects, who have not been identified, are all minors from Lawrence. They face several charges, including home invasion and assault and battery. They will face a judge Monday in Lawrence District Court. It’s unclear if they have lawyers.
The home invasion is still under investigation.
