Pubdate: Mon, 13 Apr 2015 Source: Metro (Edmonton, CN AB) Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/Edmonton Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4475 Page: A1 FAMILY WASN'T TARGET: POLICE Violent Attack Leaves Couple and Children 'Traumatized' Some of the children in the home had to witness their father being viciously assaulted. Acting Det. Anna Sinclair A young family in southwest Edmonton is traumatized after a violent home invasion in which police believe they were mistakenly targeted Friday night. A total of five suspects were involved in the assault on a 36-year-old man outside his home on McAllister Crescent, which began around 11:20 p.m. Friday night. Initially, three masked men confronted the man when he went out to the family's vehicle. He was threatened with a firearm, then severely beaten and dragged back into the home, according to police. While in the home, one of the suspects assaulted the man's wife while she held their toddler, police said, causing her to drop the infant, who wasn't injured. Four suspects proceeded to attack the man, while a fifth restrained his wife. "The whole family is traumatized and shaken," said acting Det. Anna Sinclair, of Southwest Division, in a news release. "We are asking that the suspects do the right thing, and turn themselves in." The three other children in the house got out of bed and when the five suspects saw them, they fled the home through the back door. The men fled east in the alley toward McAllister Loop. Metro attempted to contact the family, who asked for their privacy following the attack. "We are asking residents who live in the area where the break-in/assault took place to please check their yards for any suspicious items which may have been discarded by the suspects as they fled through the alley," Sinclair said in the release. "Please do not touch the items, and call police immediately." The man was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital. He has since been released and is recovering at home. Investigators believe the attackers incorrectly identified their target, and that the incident was drug-related. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom