Couple, 2 Kids Held Hostage During Midnight Home Invasion; Suspects Set House On Fire

DETROIT (WWJ) - A Detroit family went through a terrifying ordeal overnight after thieves busted into their east side home, tied everyone up and robbed the place -- then set the house on fire.

The situation unfolded around 11:50 p.m. Monday at a home in the 700 block of Conner, near East Jefferson and Dickerson avenues.

Mark Robinson said he was home with his girlfriend, their 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, when two men forced their way inside.

"These men came in my home and did some violent acts, you know what I'm saying? They threatened me and my family," Robinson told WWJ's Mike Campbell. "I ain't know them. I never seen them a day in my life."

Police responded and after hearing a gunshot from inside the house, declared the scene a barricaded gunman situation.

"I don't know what they wanted," said Robinson. "Anything I asked to try to give them for them to leave, they didn't want. They just kept saying, 'Shut up or we're going to kill you."

Robinson, who at one point was tied to a chair, and his girlfriend were eventually able to escape, but the children were left inside with their captors.

The suspects set the home on fire in an attempt to get away, but one suspect was tackled by an officer as he tried to flee. The other suspect got away and remains at large.

The children were rescued by first responders and taken to Children's Hospital. Robinson said his son is in stable condition after suffering from smoke inhalation, and his daughter is in critical but stable condition.