Montgomery County father, sons hailed as heroes for saving neighbors during attempted break-in

UPPER PROVIDENCE TWP. Pa. - A Montgomery County father and his sons are being called heroes for saving their neighbors during an attempted break-in.

A family was terrorized and barricaded inside their own home as a man tried to break-in. Luckily, for the family three neighbors were in the right place at the right time and they were packing heat.

"He tried to bang on this to try to break the handle," Steve Nave told FOX 29.

A battered steel garage door and a paint-splattered Nissan Rogue are evidence of a scary rage-filled Sunday night at his Upper Providence Township home.

"I’m thinking I hope these cops get here before this guy gets in because I don't know what he was going to do if he got in the house," Steve said.

Police say the man was suffering from mental illness and jumped from a car nearby before finding his way there. Steve says the man used a steel utility cart handle to try to pound his way inside his home. Inside his wife, two daughters and granddaughter were finishing dinner.

For three minutes, he kept his family barricaded inside while he called 911, while his wife called their long-time neighbor Ray and his boys.

“He hit the door at least 26 times trying to get in." Ray Emrich and his two sons rushed over to see the man breaking glass and throwing cans of paint and that’s when they got their guns. They armed themselves, ran back next door and confronted the man at gunpoint and that’s all it took. He quickly and most importantly peacefully gave himself up. 

“I was able to stay calm through the situation and able to assist my dad. He took the lead because he’s been through this multiple times," Shane Emrich explained.

It doesn’t hurt that the father is a 23-year police veteran with the Norristown Police Department. He used his handcuffs and waited for Upper Providence police to arrive to arrest the man for burglary and other offenses.

As for the family, it couldn't ask for better neighbors.

Just two days before the incident, 23-year-old Shane took his law enforcement academy test. He wants to be a police officer just like his father. Davin wants to go into the Army.

As for that suspect, he remains in custody and is undergoing a psychological evaluation.