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Family Attacked Twice In Two Weeks, Now Homeless

Posted at 9:31 AM, Nov 28, 2012
and last updated 2012-11-28 12:06:18-05

For the second time in 15 days, a Holland Township family has been attacked. This time, they’ve lost their mobile home.

Firefighters along with the deputies from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home in the Leisure Estates Mobile Home Park around 9:00 p.m Tuesday night.

Nobody was injured in the fire. The blaze started at the rear of the home.

Ottawa County Sheriff Lieutenant Mark Bennent says the department has collected evidence from the scene and is examining it to determine the actual cause of Tuesday’s fire. 

On November 12, the same home was attacked with a bottle filled with flammable liquid that hit the stairs leading to their front door. It didn’t break or ignite.

The next day, the homeowner told FOX 17 that a couple of hours later, a green van pulled into the home’s driveway. A person in the van showed the homeowner a gun and threatened to kill the homeowner and his wife.

The homeowner wouldn’t reveal his name to FOX 17, fearing for his family’s safety. He said he suspected the attack was gang-related.

On November 13, Ottawa County Sheriff Lieutenant Mark Bennett said the acts “from an investigative standpoint, appear to be associated with gang activity.”

On Wednesday, Lt. Bennent told FOX 17 that there is “every reason to believe” the November 12 incidents and Tuesday’s arson are connected and there is a growing suspicion that the attacks are gang-related.

He calls the matter “an enhanced criminal situation.”

The family – a husband, wife, and four children – that lived in the home were forced to find alternative housing for the time being.