911 Call Goes To Voicemail As Desperate Man Fights Home Invaders Who Beat And Rob His Family

A desperate 911 call went to voicemail as a frantic Florida homeowner fought for his and his family’s lives against four thugs who broke into his house in the dead of night and viciously assaulted everyone inside earlier this week.

As bloodcurdling screams are heard in the background on the 911 recording, an outgoing voicemail message tells the caller, “If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911. Thank you for calling.”

Audio of the 911 call and voicemail message can be heard below.

The bizarre and potentially tragic mistake happened when a dispatcher tried to send the call from the 911 fire reporting system to the police 911 — but the call went to a recorded voicemail message instead.

As he waited in terror for law enforcement, the homeowner — whose name was not revealed, presumably for fear of retaliation — the man was able to grab his personal firearm and shoot one of the home invaders in the back.

Three of the suspected bad guys are now under arrest, including the man who was shot, Steven Reverdes, 33. His 31 year-old brother Michael Riverdes was also apprehended along with a third man, Joseph Rich, also 31. The homeowner is not expected to face any charges.

The robbery attempt happened Wednesday in a home on Gwain Road in Port Richey, Florida. Police say the violent intruders, whom they described as “street thugs” with lengthy criminal records, deliberately targeted the home and demanded money and prescription drugs from the family.

The attack happened in the middle of the night, with the intruders firing guns inside the home.

“I woke up to them beating me,” said the homeowner.

“The male inside said, I have a gun and will use it – the gun battle begins. They pistol-whipped the female and took a weapon and pointed it to the child and said they would kill the child if they don’t get what they want,” said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, describing the incident.

On the recorded 911 call, the homeowner says the invaders “beat the s*** out of my wife and my stepmother.”

Pacso County authorities said that accidentally sending the horrifying 911 call to voicemail did not delay the police response. The county said that sheriff’s deputies were on their way to the residence less than four minutes after the call.

The county said that it will take steps to insure that future 911 calls do not get transferred to voicemail, but no specifics as to how to prevent such future mix-ups were given in the county’s statement.