WASHINGTON — Police are searching for five men who they say tied up several people in a Silver Spring home, held them captive and robbed them overnight Wednesday.
“This was a horrific crime. It could have been a lot more serious,” said Montgomery County police Capt. Paul Starks.
Several suspects entered a home in the 8800 block of Manchester Road around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Two adults and a young victim were inside when the suspects knocked on the door and “were able to have the victims let them into the home,” police said. Two other occupants of the home arrived later at different times while the suspects were inside, police added.
The suspects bound the adult victims overnight. The 7-year-old victim slept through at least some of the ordeal, Starks said.
Police do not think the attack was random.
“One of the victims works at a check-cashing business in this area. Detectives believe that that’s why she was singled out, and that’s why this family was singled out,” Starks said.
One of the victims, identified only as Orlando, told NBC Washington that his daughter is the check-cashing employee, and the suspects drove her to the business overnight with a goal of breaking in and robbing the place.
That plan didn’t work out when an alarm went off and the suspects fled.
Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, one of the suspects assaulted a male victim with a knife. He was stabbed in the neck and badly beaten, NBC Washington reports. When the victim was able to disarm the suspect, the three remaining suspects ran away. The victims then called 911, police said.
Emergency crews responded to the area and transported the man involved in the assault to a hospital. The man’s injuries were not life-threatening, police said.
NBC Washington reports that the suspects stole a car, cash and credit cards from the family.
Police released the descriptions of five suspects. One suspect is described as a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall with a medium build. He wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans at the time of the crime. A second suspect is also described as a black man in his 20s who wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans. The remaining three suspects are described as black men in their 20s.
Detectives urge anyone with information about the suspects or this home invasion robbery to call the Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070.
Below is a map with the location near the incident:
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