Massachusetts

LISTEN: Terrifying 911 Calls From Sharon Home Invasion

Police have released 911 calls placed by the victims of a terrifying home invasion in Sharon, Massachusetts earlier this month.

A mother and her three school-age children were inside their home on the evening of Nov. 15 when an armed man broke into their home after crashing his car during a snowstorm and assaulted the mother with a picture frame.

The 911 calls include one call from the mother and one from one of the children. Screaming can be heard in the background, as well as a man yelling, as the frightening incident unfolds.

"There's a man in the house..." the daughter says in the first call. "He started throwing things... I don't know if my mom's OK."

The next call is from the mother, and she can be heard crying hysterically as a man screams in the background.

Within seconds of receiving the calls, a patrol officer arrived at the scene and encountered an "enraged" male in an upstairs bedroom. The officer subdued the man at gunpoint and he was arrested and placed into custody.

The suspect, Ricardo Francis, 39, of Boston, is charged with armed home invasion and multiple felony charges. He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital following his appearance in Stoughton District Court.

The family told police they were watching television inside the home when Francis broke in and assaulted the mother with a picture frame as her children called 911. Her husband was not home at the time, having left to drop off a friend whose car was stuck in the snow.

The family said Francis wasn't making any sense, saying it was his home and making threats. The mom tried to get him to go outside, and at this point her husband returned home and realized what was going on. He and the children ran upstairs and barricaded themselves in a closet.

Francis allegedly followed them, took out a knife, and started stabbing the door.

Police then arrived and were able to take Francis into custody before anyone was seriously injured.

The mother needed stitches but has since returned home. The three children were not harmed.

Police said there does not appear to be any connection between Francis and the victims other than the fact that his car ran off the road in the snow and struck a vehicle located at the end of their driveway.

Francis is due back in court Dec. 5 for a dangerousness hearing.

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