Armed robbers put a pillow over a pensioner's head and threatened to shoot him during a raid on his home in Co Down last night.
In one of two separate attacks on the elderly being investigated by the PSNI, four masked men duped their way into the victim's home at Carryduff.
The intruders, wielding a handgun and a large screwdriver, told the man and his wife, both in their 70s, that their car had been broken into. But once inside, the gang forced the couple to their bedroom, police said.
A spokeswoman said: "The man was forced to his knees, a pillow was put over his head and then threats were made to shoot him."
The robbers ransacked the house and stole cash from his wallet before leaving.
The man's wife also sustained head injuries during the attack.
Earlier, an 82-year-old woman was in the kitchen of her home just outside Portadown, Co Armagh when four men broke in.
She was grabbed around the face and forced into a chair by the gang who demanded money and her pension book.
The raiders unplugged the frightened pensioner's telephone and took it with them in a bid to stop her calling for help.
But she managed to make her way to a neighbour's house where the alarm was raised.
The woman was left badly shocked and suffered bruising to her face and mouth.