By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying and locating the suspects in a Dec. 21 home break-in that left one resident injured.

SCSO deputies responded to the incident, which occurred at a residence in the 500 block of Morning Sun Drive in Meadowbrook, at about 6:30 p.m., and discovered one of the home’s two residents was “seriously injured from a physical altercation and assault,” according to an SCSO press release.

The other resident was unharmed, the release read.

Paramedics from North Shelby Fire and Rescue responded to treat both residents, but only one was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

According to the residents, three black male suspects forced entry into the home at about 4:30 p.m.

One of the residents was assaulted, and both were restrained by the suspects as they ransacked the apartment before fleeing, the release read.

Sheriff’s investigators are still trying to determine the suspects’ identities, and what items they might have taken, in what they deem “an isolated incident.”

Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area or has any information regarding the incident is urged to contact the SCSO at 669-4181, through the Secret Witness line at 669-9116 or at ShelbySO.com by clicking on the “Report Criminal Activity” link and choosing the “General Information” category.

“I take all crimes seriously, but none more so than the forced entry into a person’s home,” Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego wrote in the release. “In this case the residents were also assaulted and feared for their lives. Our job now is to work to catch those responsible for this and to prevent them from doing it again.”

The suspects could face criminal charges including first-degree burglary, a Class A felony, and first-degree assault, a Class B felony.