Two masked assailants barged into a home and beat a man with a metal pipe in a morning home invasion in Saanich last Friday.
Saanich police say neighbours called police at 8:40 a.m. after a bleeding man called for help outside of a notorious home in the 3400-block of Harriet Rd.
The property has some 270 police files associated with it since 2007, police say.
During the home invasion on Friday, two men dressed in black with their faces covered in bandanas forced their way into the house, shoved down the homeowner and burst into the bedroom of a 41-year-old male resident.
They struck him in the head with a metal pipe, police say.
The victim grabbed a baseball bat to defend himself, but the suspects disarmed him quickly, and then ran out of the house, fleeing the area on bicycles.
Investigators think the attackers also targeted a second male victim in the home, but he ran off and has refused to co-operate with police.
Sgt. Dean Jantzen said the attack wasn’t a robbery and appears targeted at the two victims over a dispute.
The property is known as a flophouse and police regularly respond to complaints of drug dealing, noise, stolen goods and petty crimes. The home is also rife with municipal bylaw infractions.
Jantzen said the house is occupied by the homeowner, who has done little to clean up the property.
“The place is well known to us, it’s regularly attended by patrol officers,” Jantzen said. “It’s an inordinate number of calls. This house is a focal point for (crimes) like this ... it impacts the whole neighbourhood.”
The 41-year-old had a significant gash to the head and was taken to hospital. Adding insult to injury, Saanich police arrested the him on outstanding warrants after he was released from medical care.
Anyone with information on this assault can call Saanich police at 250-475-4321 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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