Updated 22.48pm

THREE CHILDREN WERE put through a horrific ordeal in Dundalk last night as their home was the target of an armed gang.

Three men gained entry to the house, which is inhabited by a Chinese restaurateur and his family, in Belfry Gardens at about 7.30pm on Sunday.

They threatened a woman who was in the home and fled with what gardaí described as a “substantial amount of cash”.

There were three children in the property at the time of the aggravated burglary. According to local TD, Gerry Adams, they were locked in a cupboard during the incident.

“This was clearly a terrifying experience for the family involved,” he said in a statement this afternoon.

Adams also claimed that the home of another Chinese restaurateur was targeted in the past week.

It is a worrying development, he said.

The interim Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan said today that any new trends in crime is concerning to the gardaí, especially when it involves children being in the house at the time.

Gardaí confirmed nobody was injured in the attack and no arrests have been made. Investigations continue.

First published 16.27pm 

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