An Ottawa man woke up from a nap on his couch last Thursday afternoon to find three men standing over him, one of them armed.

In the minutes following this violent home invasion, the homeowner did what he could to get the men out of his house and keep himself alive. George Nahas has seen a lot in his life.  But never in his 70 years did he expect a terrifying encounter in his own home, in the middle of an otherwise ordinary afternoon.

It was last Thursday afternoon and Nahas had decided to lie down for a short nap after working in his garden in the hot sun.

“I hear some noise,” Nahas explains in the kitchen of his south end home, “and I look up and there are 3 people standing at top of my head, one with a gun, and bandana on his face.”

Nahas thought at first it was a joke but they started screaming for money. He knew this was real.

“At this point, I want to get away from them somehow, so I start walking towards the kitchen,” he continues to explain.

Nahas says they push him to the ground; his glasses bite into his face.

“There are some bruises on this area,” he says as he points to the right side of his head, where a nasty bruise has turned blue.

The shoving continues and the four of them end up in the living room where a quick-thinking Nahas gets an idea.

“At this point, I told them I could have a heart attack, that I have a heart condition and tell them to take it easy.”

One intruder heads upstairs, the other to the basement, Nahas think probably to continue to look for money he doesn’t have.  The guy with the gun reaches for duct tape and Nahas grab that opportunity and runs for the alarm pad by the kitchen.

“He was following me and I told him I just pressed the alarm pad and the police are on their way.”

The three took off; a witness told police they saw four young men run into a car parked on Barlett Private, just a couple blocks away from Nahas’ house.

Police are now looking for 4 men, between 18 and 25 years of age, with dark complexions, one with an afro type hairstyle, another described as chubby.  They are believed to be driving a silver or grey car, similar to a Hyundai or Toyota.

“3:45 in the afternoon is not something we see often,” says Staff-Sergeant Mike Haarbosch with the Ottawa Police Robbery Unit, “so it’s unclear and will form part of our investigation whether this was something random or whether he was, for some reason, targeted.”

Nahas has no idea why his house was targeted. He had no money, he says, and nothing was taken.

But he admits he did leave his garage door wide open while he took that nap, a mistake he'll never make again. 

“You can never be careful enough about securing place you live,” he advises, “keep your doors locked at all times and don’t open them to people you don’t know.”

According to Haarbosch, there have been 21 home invasions so far this year compared to 38 in all of last year.  In most of those cases, though, police say the victims knew their attackers. Anyone with information on this robbery or any other is asked to call the Ottawa Police Robbery Unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 5116. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS)