Red Deer RCMP continue to investigate a home invasion in the Fairview neighbourhood in the early hours of Dec. 14th and are renewing their request for public assistance in identifying the suspects.

The home invasion occurred shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 14th, when four masked men forced their way into a residence on Ottawa Street, one carrying a machete, and assaulted the woman and man who lived there. RCMP believe the incident was a targeted attack but that the suspects went to the wrong home.

At this point in the investigation, RCMP believe this was a targeted home invasion that targeted the wrong residence, and that the suspects and the victims are not known to each other.

“For the most part, home invasions in Red Deer tend to be linked to the drug trade, and this targeting of the wrong home was obviously a terrifying experience for these citizens,” said Inspector Gerald Grobmeier of the Red Deer RCMP. “Every day, RCMP gather intelligence and analytics on criminals involved in the drug trade as part of our crime reduction strategies, and we are bringing the weight of that knowledge to this investigation.”

Suspect descriptions:

· All four suspects were Caucasian

· All were described as less than 6’ tall

· One suspect was approximately 5’7” tall with a fit build, wearing a “Venom” mask, a green camouflage jacket, green camouflage pants and dark green gloves

· One suspect was noted to have blue eyes and blonde or dirty blonde facial hair

· One suspect wore a yellow plastic raincoat

· One suspect wore a puffy winter jacket, blue or grey in colour, and jeans

If you have information about this investigation, contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com. If your information leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward up to $2,000.

– Connolly