A group of three armed robbers invaded a home and held a family, including a six-year-old child, hostage to steal valuables, including money and jewelry, in Cascais municipality. One suspect was caught in the act and remains in custody.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Public Security Police (PSP) reported the arrest of a 35-year-old man for armed robbery in a residence at 11:00 PM last Monday.
The arrest followed a report indicating that an armed robbery was in progress in a residence:
Upon notification of the incident, officers promptly arrived at the scene and observed “an individual jumping over the wall of the house being robbed and attempting to flee.”
The officers pursued the suspect, who obeyed orders to lie down on the ground after one warning shot was fired into the air.
The man was found carrying a 6.35 mm caliber firearm, which was seized by the PSP.
Authorities later determined that four people were inside the residence: a couple, their six-year-old son, and the mother-in-law.
The crime occurred at around 10:30 PM, roughly half an hour before the arrest, when three suspects entered the house by scaling the wall and coerced the residents to hand over all valuables, including money, bank cards, and jewelry, even restraining one of the victims by tying their hands and feet with zip ties.
The case was reported to the Judiciary Police (PJ), which, according to the PSP, is the “criminal police body responsible for investigating this criminal offense.” The PJ arrived at the scene and “took charge of managing the crime scene and further inquiry procedures.”
The man was detained at PSP’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command facilities and, after a preliminary judicial hearing by the Cascais Public Prosecutor’s Office, he was placed under the most severe restraint measure of pre-trial detention.
