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Police said Côté buzzed the suspect into his 11-unit condominium on Durham Private on Thursday morning after the man identified himself as a City of Ottawa employee.

When the suspect got to the door, he demanded cash, but Côté refused.

The suspect then allegedly forced his way in and tied up the elderly victim before roaming through the unit and taking a number of objects. Police would not say what the suspect took.

Once the suspect had left, Côté — who was uninjured — was able to free himself and contact police. They arrived shortly after 8 a.m. Reached at his home later, Côté politely to declined to comment on his ordeal.

The suspect is described as a caucasian man, about 50, with fair complexion, a prominent nose, and short grey hair. He was wearing a driver’s style cap and possibly glasses, and was dressed in black winter jacket, pants, boots, and gloves. The suspect also carried a black shoulder bag.

Police said were able to obtain and release surveillance video from the condo complex and were attempting to identify the suspect.

Staff Sgt. Mike Haarbosch, the officer in charge of the robbery unit, is encouraging people to be vigilant following the attack.

“If you’re not expecting anybody, you didn’t recognize a person who is on the phone, and something just doesn’t seem right, you have to pay attention to those instincts,” Haarbosch said. “If your gut is telling you something is wrong, chances are that’s probably true.”