A Melbourne father-of-three has fought back against an armed home intruder who allegedly threatened his family with a machete, leaving the teenage attacker with a broken jaw.
Daniel Shoppee, 38, was home with his parents, wife and three young sons when a 17-year-old boy allegedly tried to break into their Farrell St property in Port Melbourne about 5.30am on Wednesday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dad breaks hand fighting machete-wielding intruder
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Shoppee said the family’s dog began barking, prompting his parents to investigate before his wife woke him up, saying something was wrong outside.
He and his father spotted a suspicious car parked outside their home, but the driver slowly moved down the street when they approached.
The 17-year-old allegedly threatened the family with a machete. Credit: 7NEWS The pair followed the car briefly before turning back, only to hear his mother scream.
They rushed home to find a large masked man armed with a machete confronting her inside the property’s front gate.
“There’s a guy there, a very large guy with just a massive machete,” Shoppee told 7NEWS.
His mother managed to escape onto the street and slam the gate shut, with Shoppee and his father rushing to help hold it closed.
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“He was raising this machete above his head, screaming at us, ‘I won’t hurt you if you open the gate’,” Shoppee said.
Shoppee reached over the gate, grabbed the intruder’s arm and knocked the machete down.
Despite being outsized by the 17-year-old assailant, Shoppee fought back to protect his young family. Credit: 7NEWS The teenager allegedly forced the gate open, sparking a fight with Shoppee and his father.
“We started throwing hands and he’s ended up with a broken jaw and quite a busted nose,” Shoppee said.
Shoppee suffered a broken hand, while his wife called police, who arrived shortly afterwards and arrested the teenager.
“The whole event felt like it went on for hours to be honest,” he said.
“It was pretty intense.”
Shoppee said he feared for his family’s safety, particularly with his three sons — all aged under five — inside the house.
“I’ve got mum next to me and dad next to me, and he’s coming at us, and he certainly towers over me, weight and height,” he said.
Shoppee suffered a broken hand during the confrontation. Credit: 7NEWS Asked why he decided to fight back, Shoppee said he was simply trying to protect his family.
“Your adrenaline’s going and as a dad, you protect your family, so that’s what you do.,” he said.
The frightening ordeal has left the family fearing another break-in.
“Last night, none of us slept,” Shoppee said.
He said the family was now locking every entrance to their home and keeping baseball bats nearby for protection.
Shoppee, who grew up in the family home, said it’s a tragedy his children can’t enjoy the same freedoms he did at their age.
His wife was now too frightened to walk to the supermarket with their children, even during the day.
“It’s anger, it’s sadness, overwhelming sadness of it all,” he said.
“Disappointment in just being let down time and time and time again by government.”
The 17-year-old culprit had been released from jail just a week earlier for a series of similar crimes. Credit: 7NEWS Frustration over youth crime 7NEWS understands the same teenager is behind a string of attempted break-ins armed with a meat cleaver.
He allegedly broke into an elderly woman’s Port Melbourne home and stole her car.
He served just 49 days in jail before being released a week before attacking the Shoppee family.
The boy, from the Maribyrnong area, was taken to hospital for treatment before being charged with attempted aggravated burglary and possessing a prohibited weapon.
He was remanded in custody to appear before a children’s court at a later date.