A father-of-three, Corey Conaty, 46, is recovering in intensive care after four masked, armed intruders allegedly broke into his Victoria Point home in Queensland and stabbed him repeatedly early on Tuesday. The attack left him with severe injuries and is being treated by police as targeted, raising concerns because officers had previously attended the property.

Conaty was initially placed in an induced coma after arriving at hospital in a critical but stable condition, but has since been woken; his family says further operations and a lengthy recovery are still expected. His sister said he underwent 14 hours of initial surgery to repair injuries to his arm and fingers, followed by facial, neck and abdominal surgery, while a neighbour reported hearing the intruders shouting and laughing and said they damaged Conaty’s car; a fundraising page had raised nearly A$14,000.