2 seniors targeted in Riverside home invasion: police

Two senior Riverside residents were held against their will Saturday after a group of four unarmed men forced open a door and ransacked their west suburban home in what police are calling a targeted attack.

Officers responded to the home invasion about 3:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Lionel Road, Riverside police said in a statement.

The 86-year-old homeowner said he recognized one of the suspects from a previous contracting job done on his home, police said.

A man wearing a white surgical mask claimed he was with an electrical company and forced open the door when the homeowner answered it, police said.

He and three others dragged the homeowner by his collar to a room where his 96-year-old wife was confined to a bed, police said. One of the suspects kept watch while the others ransacked the home.

The suspects drove off possibly in a Chevy Traverse toward Ogden Avenue after taking the man’s cellphone and cutting the wires to his landline phones, police said.

Police said they recovered DNA, fingerprint and video evidence from neighbor’s doorbell cameras.

“This violent home invasion is a rare occurrence in Riverside. We are actively investigating this case and have some leads,” Riverside police Chief Tom Weitzel said in a statement.

Similar home invasions have been reported in other western and southwest suburbs, including Lansing and Justice, he said.

Two of the suspects were in their 40s, while the other two were in their 20s, police said.