A 15-year-old boy has been arrested after a woman was allegedly attacked with a mallet during a home invasion in Perth’s east last night.
Police allege the teenager, captured on a neighbour’s security camera, entered the property around 9.15pm.
Mother-of-two Kristy Dunlop told 9News her six-year-old son ”literally witnessed his worst nightmare”.
The 43-year-old victim had arrived home with her husband around 9pm last night and they had accidentally left the garage door up.
While she was putting her son to bed moments later, she heard a noise and found a stranger in her kitchen unplugging a laptop.
“I came out and confronted him and grabbed him, he sort of yelled to let him go,” Dunlop said.
“We’ve struggled down the hallway, he dropped my laptop,” she recalled.
Dunlop claims he then dealt her a “massive whack to the head” with the mallet.
Dunlop was taken to Royal Perth Hospital, where she received six staples to a wound in her head.
“I think in reality I’m lucky, it could have been a lot worse – it could have been my kids,” she said.
“My six-year-old, who has trouble sleeping because he’s afraid of someone coming into the house or breaking in, has now literally witnessed his worst nightmare and that’s really hard as a parent.”
Police say the teenager allegedly assaulted the mother-of-two, then stole a mobile phone and car keys before taking off.
Dunlop’s husband “charged after” the teen down the street.
The police have since located the mobile phone at a nearby address on Armadale Road in Rivervale.
Police have taken the teenager into custody while their inquiries continue.
