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Sandra Yi and Marc Giauque reportingA man was shot in the face while his home was being robbed overnight in West Valley. His pregnant wife was also assaulted, and police are still looking for the men who did this.
The victim is still in the hospital and expected to survive. This was a very violent robbery, and the men got away with only a wallet.
It was a terrifying night for Maria Reyes' family when three masked men broke through the back door around 1:30 this morning. The robbers pistol-whipped her mother, assaulted her sister--who is five months pregnant--and shot her brother-in-law in the face.
"I don't know why these people are doing these things," Reyes said. "The one bad man, he hit my sister. So, my brother-in-law tried to cover her, so he get it, shooting."
All this happened in front of the couple's 2-year-old son. "They were demanding money, and these people were going, 'We don't have any,'" explained Capt. Tom McLachlan, spokesman for the West Valley Police Department.
Reyes says her mother and sister moved into the house a month ago, after evicting three men who were renting the place from another relative.
"I feel so bad for my family, but now we'll be OK because they still live," Reyes said.
Police don't know if it was a random crime or a case of mistaken identity, but they want to find these men quickly. "The best predictor of future performance is past performance, so these individuals may strike again," McLachlan said.
The men were wearing masks, but police say they were not wearing gloves, so investigators were able to get fingerprints.
Because this crime was so violent, police are urging anyone with information too call them at 840-4000.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com**
