Greenville County deputies are searching for five masked suspects who investigators say attacked the owner of a business at his store, drove him to his home at gunpoint, then shot his wife while ransacking their home in Travelers Rest.

Sheriff's Office Lt. Ryan Flood said the owners of W.E. Willis Inc., part of a Travelers Rest-based chain of convenience stores, were brutally attacked early Tuesday. The wife was in critical condition after she was shot in their home on Sweetgum Road and the husband was also hospitalized.

Deputies responded to the couple's store at 3601 Highway 414 in Landrum, shortly after 5 a.m. after an employee arrived there to find the store in disarray, Flood said.

Deputies went to the owner's home in the Green Valley community and found the door to the home unlocked, Flood said. They discovered the man and his wife tied up, and the wife had suffered at least one gunshot wound, the Sheriff's Office said.

Flood did not identify the victim's by name.

Investigators later learned the owner had been at the convenience store conducting business and preparing for the day around 4 a.m., Flood said.

When he left, he was met in the parking lot by five masked suspects who brutally attacked him, Flood said. The suspects then forced the owner into a car at gunpoint and drove him to his home. The store location is about 16 miles northeast of where the shooting took place.

The suspects ransacked the home, tied up the couple, attacked them and shot his wife before fleeing, Flood said.

The suspects left in the owner's vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said. The vehicle was recovered and investigators are working to sort through evidence.

Flood said deputies are asking for anyone who might have video surveillance cameras at their homes in the Green Valley community to check them between the timeframe of 4 a.m and 7 a.m. for any suspicious activity.

They can call CrimeStoppers at 23-CRIME or 271-5210 for report any relevant findings, Flood said. Investigators believe it is an isolated event.