A 15-year-old boy and his father are in critical condition after they were attacked in their own home by masked men in a "completely unprovoked" assault, police say.
Officers were called to a house in Thurnby, Leicestershire, in the early hours of Thursday following a report that two masked men had entered and attacked the occupants.
The boy and his father - a man in his 50s - are in hospital in a life-threatening condition following the attack, which happened just before 12.30am at the property in Station Road, Leicestershire Police said.
A woman in her 40s, who is the boy's mother and the man's wife, suffered minor injuries to her hand and shoulder during the incident.
She has since been discharged from hospital, while three other children who were in the house were not injured.
Armed officers were deployed to the scene but the masked men had left before they arrived.
Detective Inspector Lorna Granville said: "This was a violent attack against a family in their own home which appears to have been completely unprovoked.
"Our investigation to understand what happened and why - and identify those behind such a horrific criminal act - is going to continue over the weekend."
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The senior officer added: "I'm making a direct appeal to people in Thurnby and the surrounding communities to come forward with any information if they haven't already done so.
"We owe it to the victims to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
Police have urged anyone who may have captured relevant dashcam or doorbell footage or CCTV to contact them.
(c) Sky News 2026: Boy and father in critical condition after 'violent attack' by masked men in their home in Thurnby
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