Armed robbers possibly got wrong address

Police are investigating an armed robbery in north Columbia that happened on Sunday night.

Just before 6:30 p.m., three men armed with handguns entered a residence on Elleta Boulevard through an unlocked door.

They demanded money and property and got away with one item.

A K-9 unit lost their scent, and now the three men are on the run.

Police do not have a very good suspect description, because all three men were wearing masks.

The home was part of public housing, an area officials said does not see this type of crime very often.

Police tell ABC 17 News they believe the men were targeting a nearby home and entered the wrong one.

But Phil Steinhaus, CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority, said incidents in public housing are not usually random. And the housing authority takes those incidents seriously.

“If we find out the residents knew the suspects and if their involvement with them brought them to this property, then we would terminate their lease,” Steinhaus said.

Columbia police and the Housing Authority will be working together to investigate this incident.

While police search for the men, Steinhaus said he doesn’t believe extra patrols will be necessary because he thinks this is an isolated incident.

“Our crime rate is really, really low, and we’ve had very few incidents on Elleta Boulevard, so we’re not going to step up special patrols,” he said.