York Regional Police have taken the unusual step of releasing images of a victim’s injuries following a violent home invasion in Vaughan last week.
Police say that the 59-year-old woman was alone in her home near Centre Street and New Westminster Drive on the afternoon of Dec. 11 when she answered her door and was greeted by two suspects who forced their way inside.
Once inside, police say that the suspects proceeded to hit the woman in the head and face with a handgun. They then forced her into a bathroom while they searched the home.
The suspects eventually fled the area and the woman called police.
Police say they still don’t know why the woman’s residence was targeted and believe that the suspects may have had the wrong house.
“These injuries and the level of violence that was shown here to an innocent victim are outside the scope of what you see in like circumstances, even people involved in the criminal underworld, a code as it were amongst people committing crime. This is outside the scope of what’s acceptable,” Inspector Ryan Hogan of the York Regional Police Hold-Up Unit told CTV News Toronto. “We’re appealing to all members of the community, all facets of the community to provide us with information as to who may be responsible as to who may be responsible for this.”
Police say that the victim sustained two broken orbital bones, a broken nose, a broken jaw, sprained thumb, a broken ankle and a concussion as a result of the attack.
In a news release, police said that while it is “very rare” for them to release any information about victims, they have decided to do so in this case “due to the unusual circumstances and severity of this incident.”
“The level of brutality displayed by these suspects is appalling,” York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe said in the release. “The victim remained in hospital recovering from her very serious injuries for more than a week after the incident. Her family is understandably shocked and devastated, as any of us would be. We need the community’s help. We are urging anyone with information to please come forward.”
The first suspect in the home invasion is described as a black male, who is about six-feet to six-foot-one with a medium build. He was last seen wearing black clothing and carrying a black pistol.
The second suspect, meanwhile, is described as a black female with a light complexion and wavy hair that was pulled back.
