A father and his teenage son remain in hospital with life-threatening injuries after two masked men forced their way into a family home in Thurnby, Leicestershire, and stabbed them repeatedly in an attack police describe as unprovoked.
Officers were called to Station Road shortly before 00:30 BST on Thursday following reports of a disturbance. Leicestershire Police said the man in his 50s and the 15-year-old boy were attacked inside the property while a woman in her 40s—their wife and mother—suffered minor wounds to her hand and shoulder. Three other children in the house were not physically injured.
Armed response, suspects gone
Because of the severity of the assault, the force deployed armed officers to the village east of Leicester. Police said the intruders had already left before tactical units arrived, and no arrests had been announced by Friday afternoon.
Detective Inspector Lorna Granville told reporters the incident appeared “completely unprovoked” and pledged that investigators would work through the weekend to identify those responsible. Search teams remained in the area Friday looking for evidence that could link the suspects to the address or to vehicles seen nearby.
Specialist murder unit takes lead
The inquiry is being run by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, the regional team that handles the most serious violence across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire. EMSOU has not said whether detectives are treating the attack as targeted or random, and no motive has been disclosed.
Neighbours described a quiet suburban street where late-night traffic is unusual. Community officers have been door-knocking to gather CCTV from doorbells and dashcams, a standard first step when suspects wore masks and fled on foot or in an unseen vehicle.
Support for the family
Leicestershire Police urged anyone with information, including motorists who were on Station Road around midnight, to contact the force or Crimestoppers. The mother’s injuries were described as not life-threatening, but trauma specialists are expected to work with the unharmed children while the father and son remain under intensive care.
Hospital officials have not released detailed medical updates, citing patient privacy. For now, the case stands as one of the most serious domestic assaults in the East Midlands this autumn—a home invasion that left two generations of the same family fighting for their lives while masked attackers remain at large.
Thurnby sits on the edge of Leicester’s commuter belt, and Station Road is the kind of arterial village street where residents said they rarely see violent crime. Friday morning dog walkers were redirected by uniformed officers while forensic teams worked inside the cordon, a process that can take days when blood pattern analysis and footwear marks must be preserved for court.