[WATCH] Masked man attempts violent break-in at Valletta family home

A burglar was caught on CCTV attempting a violent break-in into a Valletta property on Monday night, using a crowbar to force his way into the premises.

The owner of the property posted the CCTV footage on Facebook, saying his family has been unable to sleep properly since the harrowing attempt.

“This is Valletta, in 2024,” Valletta resident and architect Chris Briffa said of the video, in which a man wearing a motorcycle helmet alights from his partner-in-crime’s bike, and makes his way directly to Briffa’s premises.

He then proceeds to break through the ground-floor window of the property, before fleeing.

“Masked men from head-to-toe, attacking our property with a crowbar in the middle of a Monday night. Our guests staying one flight of stairs up had the shock of their lives, on their last night in Malta. My family and I, a couple of floors up, haven’t been able to properly sleep since.”

Briffa queried whether this was a direct attack, or an attempted break-in. “We will probably never know. The two cowards ran off when the lights from the guests’ bedroom came on.”

Briffa said he has been a Valletta resident for 25 years, and described Malta's capital city as a safe environment, even at times not needing to lock front doors. “Not any more it seems. Valletta’s degeneration takes new heights.”