As soon as Oriole Park resident Noelle Little saw the four masked men, she knew they had the wrong house.
Little and her partner were sleeping when they heard a noise and they rushed out to the front room.
Intruders, one carrying a machete, were trying to break into their front door.
Once inside, one of the intruders shouted, “where is it?”
“Where is what?” she answered.
Little told the men that the family doesn’t have anything they are looking for and that there were children sleeping in the house.
Then one man started screaming that they have the wrong house after he went into another room and noticed Little’s teenaged children.
The four men immediately fled.
Little and her partner Ryan Schindel received minor injuries and deep cuts that needed stitches while the men were forcing their way into the house. Her three children – between the ages of 14 and 20 – live in the home.
Her son Justice Harris, 20, said he is worried about the men getting to the correct house because the consequences will be far worse.
“We were the wrong house fortunately,” said Harris. “It was a complete mistake on their part apparently.”
Around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, police responded to a 911 call in Oriole Park after the four men forced their way into the Ottawa Street residence.
Red Deer RCMP Insp. Gerald Grobmeier said for the most part, home invasions in Red Deer tend to be linked to the drug trade. Police believe this was a targeted home invasion, and the suspects and victims were not known to each other.
“This targeting of the wrong home was obviously a terrifying experience for these citizens,” he said.
Just a few houses away, Julie Perry, who has had her house and car broken into about two years ago, said the neighbourhood is generally quiet.
“This is crazy and scary,” said Perry. “It doesn’t surprise me, it’s Red Deer.”
Since the incidents, she not only locks her doors but keeps the doors shut tight with a wooden stick.
Another neighbour, Danilli Villanueva, 30, said she’s been living in the “quiet” neighbourhood for about six months.
One of her three boys, 12, goes out to play in the park right across the street from her house. After learning about the incident, she won’t be sending him out to play alone.
“Not for a couple of weeks at least,” she said.
Red Deer RCMP continue to investigate.
If you have any information about the incident, contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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