METRO VANCOUVER — A 19-year-old woman who was allegedly the victim of an attempted home invasion in Richmond last week believes police aren’t doing enough to solve the crime.

“I don’t think they’re taking it seriously enough at all,” said the woman.

She said she was confronted by four men — one with a shotgun and another with a machine gun — on Oct. 6 at the Richmond home of her boyfriend and his mother.

“The first two days (after the incident), I didn’t even hear anything from (police), not until I threatened to bring it to the (media).”

She said that at 11:30 p.m., four men came to her door while she, her boyfriend, her niece and her boyfriend’s daughter (both toddlers) were inside.

She opened the door and was met by a man pointing a shotgun at her face, while another man with an automatic weapon stood nearby.

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To view photos of the home invasion, click here. If you're on a mobile device, tap the story image and swipe.

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She said she shut the door and her boyfriend called police. The four men immediately left, she said, adding that nobody was hurt. “Luckily, they weren’t able to get inside the house because we have pretty high security.”

A security camera captured a clear image of one of the men’s faces, and police have it, she said.

She said that neither she nor her 29-year-old boyfriend have had associations with criminals in the past and that they don’t know why they were targeted.



“I don’t know who they were or if they were trying to harm our family. But I’m just concerned because the police haven’t gone anywhere with the information they have. They have a clear image of the (man) who tried to attack me.”



Richmond RCMP spokesman Dennis Hwang said Tuesday that “police have been in constant communication with the person I believe you were in contact with. “These types of police operations are very sensitive, so we’ve been working with them from when this happened. That’s all I can say. The allegations that we may or may not be taking this seriously are a little bit troubling.





“Just because it doesn’t get reported immediately doesn’t mean that police aren’t taking things seriously.”

On Wednesday, police released security footage of the attempted home invasion, which they said happened in the 4000-block of Blair Drive.

"It is believed that four suspects were planning to enter the residence by force,” Hwang said in a statement. “Two suspects approached the front door. Two other suspects waited around the corner of the residence, one armed with what appears to be a shotgun and the other with what appears to be an assault rifle. All four suspects appeared to be dressed in gray or light coloured hoodies and gray sweat pants. Two were wearing light coloured caps and face masks.”

Added Hwang, "The potential for serious injury was real and we are very concerned. The home owner in this incident was very conscious of what was about to happen, slammed the door quickly, and called police. The home owner's actions may have prevented serious injury."

Hwang said one of the suspects appears to be Caucasian, with dark brown straight hair, in his late teens or early twenties, medium build, possibly 178 cm (5'10) or taller.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact RCMP Const. Sangha at 604-278-1212.

bmorton@vancouversun.com

Click here to see the home invasion video

Click here to see a second home invasion video

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