Police hunting two men over a vicious attack with a hammer and iron bar at a Napier house believe the motive may have been more sinister than robbery.
The men forced their way into the Waitangi Rd, Awatoto, property about 9pm Tuesday and assaulted the 19-year-old occupant, who received ``significant'' injuries
requiring immediate medical attention.
They then attacked and seriously injured a visitor who had arrived at the house unexpectedly.
Detective Sergeant Emmet Lynch said today the men made specific demands before making off with a laptop and a camera, suggesting the offenders had prior knowledge of the house or occupants.
But the severity of the attack also suggested motivations other than theft.
``There may be more to this, but we're certainly keeping an open mind on that,'' Mr Lynch told NZPA.
``We're still trying to nut out whether or not there's any links to any other events that these people have been involved in, or any other history of similar things. But these sort of attacks don't happen very often.''
The two victims could not identify their attackers, or any specific reason why the attack happened.
``But just from the type of things that were demanded, I would say this is not a completely random event,'' Mr Lynch said.
``They may have been told about what was at the address or what type of people lived there.''
One offender was described as a 30- to 35-year-old Maori of medium build, about 1.67m to 1.78m tall, with a round, clean-shaven face.
He was wearing dark clothing and wore his hair in a bob style, cut to just above collar with streaks of orange.
The second man was a Maori of medium build and unknown age, wearing dark clothing.
Police said the offenders ran toward Te Awa Avenue, where they may have had a car parked.
A red coupe, similar to a Mitsubishi Cordia, was seen parked suspiciously in the Waitangi Road area about the time of the attack.
The car's registration number was recorded as UA4659, but initial police inquiries found the registration did not match the car's description.
Police wanted to speak to anyone with information about the attack, or who recognised the descriptions of the offenders or vehicle.
The victims of the attack have been discharged from hospital, the 19-year-old with a broken leg.
