Home owner fights back, slashes burglars with sword

It is not always that the hunter turns to be the prey. But that is what precisely happened when a group of robbers in Argentina barely managed to escape with their lives after being slashed by a homeowner.

Dias Costa, 49, defended his home from four armed burglars by slashing the faces, arms, and necks of the attackers with a Samurai sword, the Daily Mail reported on Monday. The profusely bleeding robbers fled the property in a getaway car.

The burglary took place late at night in the Cerro Norte neighbourhood of Cordoba, in central Argentina, when Costa and his wife Christina were asleep.

The robbers, armed with two pistols, broke in at around 3.30 a.m., but were not prepared for the savage counter-attack. All of them are reportedly under intensive care.

"In a moment, when the attackers were not paying attention, the house owner took a samurai sword and defended himself, injuring the attackers and making them run away" said police official Mariano Zarate.

In the panic, the thieves only managed to steal the equivalent of a little over $400 and fled in a Peugeot 206 car, which was parked outside.

However, bleeding heavily, the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a stationary car forcing all four to run to hospital for emergency treatment.

Police initially arrested two men and a woman, but another man who hid was forced to come back to hospital the next day with serious sword injuries.

The Costa family has moved in with their relatives as they fear they might be targeted in revenge attacks.

Prosecutor Jorgelina Guties said: "We could not yet question the victim of the burglary as he is still in a state of shock."