Police looking for multiple suspects in connection with an armed home invasion in South Surrey say their efforts are being hampered by unco-operative victims.
Officers raced to a home in the 15200-block of 24 Avenue around 1:30 p.m. June 7, after several males armed with a machete and firearms broke in.
No serious injuries were reported, however, a neighbour who tried to help was struck by a vehicle police believe was associated with the attack.
“Nobody was stabbed, nobody was shot,” Cpl. Drew Grainger said the next day. “There was a bit of pushing and shoving, but nobody (in the house) was injured.”
Officers with Surrey RCMP’s Major Crime Section are investigating, but Grainger said their efforts are being complicated by a lack of co-operation from the victims.
He described the home’s occupants at the time of the attack as “young people that are known to police to be involved in the drug trade.”
“They’re not co-operating with the police and they are the primary people that we would need to solve this.”
The suspects are described as males in their late teens to early 20s.
Reports at the scene indicated an armed suspect or suspects were breaking into the home when a neighbour intervened and was hit by a vehicle as it fled the area.
A teenager, who said he lived at the house with his parents and sister, told Peace Arch News police were on the scene when he arrived home from school. He was not allowed past yellow police tape that stretched across the front of his and a neighbour’s home, however, his mother approached and handed him the family dog, he said.
Prior to his arrival, a woman could be seen sitting on the trunk of a car comforting what appeared to be a teenage girl. The legs of a shoeless male dressed in shorts, a hoodie and only one sock were bandaged in at least two places.
While one male was taken into custody, police say no arrests have been made associated to the home invasion itself. The person arrested was identified by police at the scene as wanted in connection with an earlier road-rage incident in South Surrey, Grainger said.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He just came over there to see what was going on.”
Police at the scene would not comment on the incident. Grainger described the incident as “an example of how the South Surrey area is a growing community.” As it continues to grow, police are seeing the criminal element “become more prevalent,” he said.
Investigators are continuing to follow up on a number of leads regarding the latest incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call Const. Mike Halskov at 604-599-7691 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
– with files from Hannah Sutherland
