Harrowing video shows moments men broke into home, stabbed father and took his 3 children

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Harrowing surveillance footage shows the moment a group of men forced their way into a home in Mableton, stabbed a father and then took off with his three children.

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Chris Jose was in Marietta, where 31-year-old Danny Bernal is recovering. The children were rescued from a Super 8 Motel in Decatur early Thursday morning.

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Bernal’s ex-wife is accused of orchestrating the attack, which involved a crowbar

On Friday, Bernal spent the day at the Cobb County courthouse filing a restraining order against his ex-wife, who is in custody at the Cobb County Jail. He also came to get a permit for a weapon.

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Home surveillance video shows a group of men forcing their way inside. A second angle shows them trying to drag Bernal out of the home.

“I was just trying to dodge and move the whole time,” Bernal said, calling it “survival mode.” “I took all the punches. I could feel the flashes in my eyes.”

As the group of men jumped him, his ex-wife, Clarissa Zuniga, came and took their three daughters, who were living with him.

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“You can see clear in the video she popped up. No mask. No nothing,” Bernal said.

While Bernal was in the hospital, police were able to track the kids down. The estranged couple’s two other children were found safe in the Super 8 motel as well.

Bernal said he can barely walk after the attack.

“I got stitches in the back, my whole left back is swollen,” Bernal said. “I guess they hit me with a crowbar in the back.”

Along with Zuinga, three men were also arrested, and a fourth person is still getting processed at the Cobb County Jail.

Bernal said he didn’t know the men who attacked him.

“She got guys from Clayton County, Forrest Park, Decatur,” Bernal said. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen those guys before, honestly.”

Bernal said he wants full custody of the children.

Bernal said the incident has made him scared for his and his family’s safety.

“I dont’ feel safe at all as we speak,” Bernal said. “I could be getting watched right now. I don’t know who she knows.”

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