Editor's note: This article has been updated with the most recent information from RCMP.
Mounties are no longer asking the public to avoid a rural area that had earlier been contained in an effort to track down armed suspects.
Officers from the Rocky Mountain House and Sundre detachments were dispatched on the morning of Monday, Aug. 10 to an area south of Caroline along Twp. Rd. 360 following a 911 call that multiple unknown individuals had entered a residence and assaulted two occupants inside.
RCMP Police Dog Services were deployed and subsequently determined that there were no tracks from the suspects who were believed to be on foot at the previously reported location, RCMP said in a press release.
Police now believe that the suspects were able to leave the property in a vehicle. However, there is no confirmed description of the vehicle they are travelling in, or where they might be headed.
Mounties initially responded at 10:27 a.m. to a call that multiple unknown persons had entered a home and assaulted two occupants in the residence.
“The suspects fled, in possession of stolen firearms, and the RCMP were working to locate them. It is believed they left in a vehicle in an unknown direction of travel,” reads a portion of an updated press release.
“The RCMP are actively investigating in order to try to locate and identify the suspects involved. Information leads the police to believe that this may have been a targeted incident.”
The public is no longer advised to avoid that area, although the police investigation continues.
Mounties had asked the public to stay away from the rural area as they pursued armed suspects believed to be on foot.
Officers from both the Rocky Mountain House and Sundre departments contained an area in the location of 62007 Twp. Rd. 360.
“Following a complaint of a home invasion, armed suspects are believed to be on foot in that area,” read a portion of the initial press release issued in the morning.
“Homeowners need to be aware of the situation, and the public needs to avoid the area. Assisting RCMP units are engaged and there will be an increased police presence,” the earlier press release stated.
