COLONIE — As a Menands man left his apartment to go to work Monday morning, a knife-wielding man forced him back into his apartment and demanded he empty the contents of a safe.

The victim did not know the suspect, but officers are investigating how the robber knew the victim had a safe containing three firearms inside his apartment at Village One Apartments, police said. The two shotguns and a rifle that were stolen were unloaded. No ammunition was taken.

The suspect stole the victim's car to make his getaway, police said.

The robbery occurred about 8:30 a.m. The suspect somehow got past a security door to the apartment building's common area before getting inside the victim's apartment. The building requires a tenant to buzz in a visitor. The door was working Monday, police said.

"The victim says he did not know him," Colonie Police Lt. Robert Winn said. "He did seem to know some things about the apartment. He knew the tenant had a safe where the guns were."

The suspect tied up the victim with a belt and other items found in the apartment. It took the victim 20 minutes to free himself and call police.

Winn said the crime does not fit with any other recent ones in Colonie or the area.

"For us to have an armed home invasion is very rare, but the time of day makes it very unusual for us," he said.

There are some surveillance cameras at the complex and in the area, Winn said, and police will be examining them to see if the suspect can be seen. No one else at the complex saw the suspect, but one tenant reported hearing raised voices at the time.

Tenants at the complex described it as normally quiet.

"I love this place. It really is out of the ordinary," said one young woman who declined to give her name. She said she did not know the victim well but described him as "super, super nice."

Another tenant said people there generally kept to themselves.

Mark Pesantes, a 22-year-old student, said he had lived there for two years but was being made to leave over issues with his dachshund.

"I'm kind of glad I am leaving," he said.

Besides the three guns, the suspect also stole two cameras, several hundred dollars in cash, the victim's wallet and the victim's black 2009 Mazda 6 four-door sedan. Its license plate is ENA4041.

The suspect was described as a 6-foot black man in his 30s with a Caribbean accent. He was wearing a blue or gray hooded sweatshirt, a blue handkerchief covering his face, blue pants and white sneakers with blue stripes.

Police cautioned anyone who spots the car not to approach. Call 911 immediately, they said.

tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientu