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Two men who were taken to hospital after being attacked by an armed and masked gang at their home in County Londonderry were a father and son.

The son has been left with "serious and potentially life-changing injuries" after being shot in the arms and legs.

It happened during an aggravated burglary at a house in Mettican Road in Garvagh on Tuesday night.

Detectives are understood to be keeping an open mind about the motive for the attack, which was carried out by men wearing balaclavas.

DUP councillor Michelle Knight-McQuillan, who knows the family well, has described the men as "well-respected" and said villagers were in shock at the chain of events.

The house where the attack happened is roughly two miles outside of Garvagh in a remote and very rural area.

"I took a lot of calls yesterday from a lot of people who were in disbelief, shock and fear at this traumatic attack," Knight-McQuillan told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"I know the family, they are well known, I know them personally."

"I spoke to a number of people yesterday who know the family, who know what they are like, and they are in disbelief that such a traumatic experience has come upon them.

"Everyone is worried for the family."

She has appealed to anyone who saw "anything out of the ordinary, vehicles they didn’t recognise, or traveling at a speed, no matter how small or insignificant they think it is" to contact the police.