A man has shared his harrowing experience of being threatened with a knife during a robbery at his home near Oxford, stating he "thought he was going to die" when confronted by two men dressed as construction workers.
Mr. Ali, who has chosen not to disclose his first name, lives with his elderly parents close to Oxford train station. The chilling encounter unfolded on January 8, 2025, just before 9 p.m. as he spent time at home.
The 41-year-old recounts hearing "banging" on the front door around 8:45 p.m. He recalls, "I don’t have keys for the front door... as I came downstairs I could see two chaps with high-vis gear on through the frosted glass." Feeling uneasy yet motivated to understand the situation, Mr. Ali called out, "Come round to the back, it’s quarter to nine, there’s rules and regulations... I want to see what you’re talking about."
Despite his intuition telling him something was off, Mr. Ali made the decision to confront the two men. At the back door, the men—dressed in hard hats and medical masks—presented him with what appeared to be documents on a clipboard. But as Mr. Ali leaned to inspect it, one of the assailants suddenly positioned himself behind him, pressing the blade of a knife against his throat.
"I was in panic and grabbed the knife off my neck. Then there was a struggle. I’m shouting for help," he described, reliving the terrifying moment. Footage from his garden's CCTV captured the desperate struggle between Mr. Ali and the would-be thieves before they fled the scene, leaving him shaken and injured.
After the confrontation, Mr. Ali found it difficult to stand up. Thankfully, his neighbors rushed to his aid and dialed 999. The police arrived approximately 20 to 30 minutes later, and paramedics took another hour to reach the scene. "I thought I had been stabbed, you’re asking yourself, 'why can’t I get up?'" he said, sharing the distress he faced after the incident. Medical personnel explained his inability to stand was due to shock causing low blood pressure.
The robbers made off with Mr. Ali’s phone, but through the tracking feature "Find My Friends," it was later located discarded within the garden of a nearby pub. Mr. Ali suspects the intruders intended to gain more access to his home, stating, "I think they were trying to get in the house... they were trying to cover my mouth, but I made such a noise."
He expressed deep concern for his elderly parents, aged 72 and 85, stating, "I believe if I wasn't there, just the shock - even if they didn't stab [my dad] - could have killed him in itself."
Following the traumatic experience, Mr. Ali had to receive stitches for injuries to his fingers sustained during the struggle. Despite his initial relief at having survived, he lamented, "It could have been a lot worse – I could not be here right now, to be honest." He voiced frustration about the lack of feedback from law enforcement, saying, "I feel like nothing is being done. It is kind of surreal. I haven’t been updated by police in two weeks."
Mr. Ali aims to raise awareness of the incident, emphasizing safety precautions for others. Since the robbery, he has arranged for panic alarms to be installed for his parents and noted developments of increased security measures among his neighbors, many of whom are now installing security cameras due to the unsettling nature of the incident.
"Everybody feels quite vulnerable at the moment," he remarked. A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police confirmed they received reports of the burglary around 8:48 p.m. on January 8 at Russell Street, Oxford, and urged anyone with information to contact them with reference number 43250011944.
The situation underlines the rising concern over safety and security within residential neighborhoods as individuals band together to protect themselves against potential threats, reflecting the troubling dynamics of modern-day living.