St. Albert RCMP are looking for the public’s assistance to solve a violent home invasion that sent a North Ridge man to hospital earlier this month.

Three masked men allegedly forced their way into the home of a 41-year-old man after he opened his front door about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

The group left the man beaten and bound before ransacking the home and fleeing the residence at about 10 p.m.

“This incident is extremely rare to happen in St. Albert and is not believed to be a random event,” said Cpl. Laurel Kading.

She said police are not willing to disclose at this time why it is believed the attack was targeted.

“We’re still really early in this investigation. We don’t want to jeopardize what occurs to this person,” she said, adding it is unclear if the victim knew the attackers.

The victim sought help from a neighbour, who contacted police at 10:30 p.m. He was taken to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton for treatment of undisclosed injuries.

The suspects are believed to have worn dark clothing, toques and masks in the attack.

Kading said she could not say what the victim was beaten and bound with, citing evidential pieces that are crucial to the investigation.

Investigators are still determining whether anything was stolen from the home as well as how the suspects fled the location.

“We’re definitely looking for tips from the community on this,” she said. “It may be that people saw something and don’t even realize it’s important. Anything up in the North Ridge area, if it was around that date and time, we’re looking for tips.”

General duty RCMP officers initially responded, calling in additional officers from St. Albert’s general investigation section as well as K Division’s forensic investigation section.

Individuals with information are encouraged to contact the St. Albert RCMP detachment at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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