Three West Shore youths are facing charges of assault, robbery with a weapon and robbery with a disguise.
West Shore RCMP received a call at 8:20 a.m. from a residence on the 1100-block of Goldstream Ave. reporting a home invasion. RCMP said three masked suspects entered, produced knives and assaulted a 60-year-old male before fleeing on foot.
The Saanich Police Department K9 Unit joined the RCMP to investigate the area and eventually located and arrested two males near the Trans Canada Highway at Goldstream Ave. after receiving calls from the public about individuals transiting through the area and running through their yards.
“Our belief at this time is it was a targeted situation, and these situations we take very seriously,” said Cpl. Kathy Rochlitz of the West Shore RCMP. “We are very happy a call for assistance came in at 8:20 a.m. and by 8:45 a.m. we had two in people in custody.”
A third suspect turned themselves into the West Shore RCMP detachment and remains in custody at this time.
“What also assisted is (that) the public called with locations of the suspects, so that helped us greatly,” Rochlitz continued. “We always encourage the public to report suspicious activity and that is what happened in this case.”
Three suspects between the ages of 16-17 years old remain in custody. The 60-year-old male suffered minor bruising.
alim@goldstreamgazette.com