An Iraqi immigrant who smashed up and set fire to his Auckland home before allegedly attacking several family members was Tasered by police in front of shocked neighbours.
Kais Khalil, 25, went "psycho" during a heated family argument at the Glenfield house yesterday, allegedly using a metal rod to smash almost every window in the house before setting fires in the living room and on the back deck.
Dramatic video footage captured by a neighbour showed Khalil allegedly dragging his mother on to the front lawn before kicking her as she lay defenceless on the ground.
A few minutes later he is seen lying on the ground surrounded by five police officers after being Tasered.
One neighbour said Khalil formerly owned A List Tiling, which was the subject of an investigation by the TV3 reality show Target last year.
Yesterday's drama began just before noon when an apparent dispute between Khalil and his taxi driver father Sarmad Menas turned violent.
Family members, some wearing pyjamas, escaped on to the street as Khalil went from room to room breaking windows and setting fire to a mattress behind the home.
Ten-metre flames and thick, black smoke were seen billowing from the blaze.
When police officers arrived Khalil threw petrol over them before running back in the house. He then doused the living room in petrol and set it alight.
Senior Sergeant Mark Fergus said: "[He] came out of the address with the lighter in his hand and refused to put it down.
"When he had moved away from the accelerant a Taser was deployed to safely effect the arrest of the male."
Fire officers extinguished both blazes, but the house suffered extensive smoke damage.
Wayne Pritchard, who had been visiting family three doors from the home, said: "We heard a fierce argument going on in a foreign language and then the sound of smashing glass.
"The windows were shaking, he was going psycho. When the police shot him with the Taser gun he went down like a sack of spuds."
Pritchard, a builder, estimated the carnage would have caused $40,000 worth of damage to the house.
Mother-of-two Mandy Gerber, who lives directly behind the house, left her 5-month-old son sleeping inside while she went out to see what was going on.
After being told that a second fire had started inside the house she panicked and ran back to her home to get the infant out of the house.
She said: "It was terrifying. I left my son because I didn't know if there would be glass shards flying around. I was really concerned about overspill from the fire.
"The father was always taking care of his house ... I feel so sorry for them."
Several househunters turning up to an open home across the road were too frightened to get out of their cars.
The property was covered in shattered glass from windows and smashed car windscreens. A petrol can lay in the driveway. Inside the home most of the walls were blackened from smoke damage.
His brother and father returned to the home last night to begin the clean-up.
Friends said the family were devout Christians who are believed to have fled Iraq to escape religious persecution around five years ago.
Khalil will face several charges in the North Shore District Court tomorrow.
'Berserk' son Tasered
Screen grabs from the Glenfield incident in which a man went on a rampage of violence and destruction at his parents' home. Photo / Supplied
