A North Toronto man was tied up and beaten during a violent home invasion back in September, police allege, after answering a knock at his front door.
It was just after 7 a.m. on Sept. 27 when the victim, described by police as a “professional gentleman,” heard a knock.
When he answered, Toronto police say he was confronted by two men wearing construction gear.
“Both men were armed with firearms and forced their way into the victim’s home, repeatedly demanding money,” Acting Inspector Lauren Pogue said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“The suspects tied the victim up and viciously attacked him while ransacking his home.”
The pair came up empty handed, Pogue said, and eventually bolted from the home without taking anything.
The severely beaten 67-year-old managed to free himself once they left.
“He was able to call police at that point,” Pogue said. “He did suffer some significant injuries. He did require some hospital attention.”
Investigators later discovered that the victim was likely surveilled prior to the attack.
Security camera video obtained by police shows the all suspects – three males dressed in the same construction gear – walking along a sidewalk examining the area one week prior, on Sept. 21.
A suspect vehicle, described as a 2007 or 2008 dark grey or blue Nissan Maxima, waited nearby.
“They were seen in the same area and believed to be casing the area,” Pogue said.
“Both the occasions while the male were out on foot, the vehicle was waiting in the area and was parked with an unknown male inside – a fourth person of interest.”
The same vehicle is believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle after the Sept. 27 attack.
The three suspects are all described as black males in their mid-twenties.
They were all last seen wearing pieces of construction clothing, including yellow or white hardhats, black pants and reflective vests. One of the suspects was carrying a blue and white cooler.
A description of the getaway driver was not provided.
“Our biggest concern is that our victim appears to have been randomly targeted,” Pogue said.
“A lot of times in home invasions there is a nexus between the suspects and the person, there is some sort of connection or criminality involved but that isn’t the case in this situation. The victim is a professional gentleman and I believe it to be unprovoked and entirely random.”
Anyone with information about the suspects or incident is being asked to call Toronto police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.