Woman traumatized by thieves

Woman traumatized by thieves
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published June 14, 2003

A woman living in the 5900 block of 12th Avenue was severely traumatized after being tied up, then robbed by three hooded bandits late Sunday night.

The woman was home alone when the suspects somehow found their way into her home, said Const. Phil Reid.

"This woman was very traumatized because these guys were moving her from one place in the house to another. That has to be very frightening," Reid said.

The 31-year-old woman reported the men appeared to have some kind of weapon - possibly a revolver - but she was too scared to know for sure, Reid added.

One suspect wore a black ski mask, another had a white bandanna over his face, and the third suspect had his jacket collar zipped up in front of his face, said Reid.

The suspects were able to obtain "a large amount of gold jewelry" before fleeing, leading police to believe that the home may have been targeted.

WITNESSES HEARD SHOTS

A drive-by shooting in the 6900 block of Gray Avenue in the late hours of Monday night appears to be a targeted incident, say the Burnaby RCMP.

"We were unable to determine the motive, but we did find some shell casings," said Const. Phil Reid, spokesperson for the city RCMP detachment. "The victim is known to us."

The shots were fired at around 11:30 p.m. Monday and were reported by several neighbours of the rental home that was targeted. Witnesses also saw a nondescript vehicle fleeing the scene immediately afterwards.

Because the investigation is still ongoing, police refused to release information about the type of bullet casings found at the scene.