One Arrested After Violent Home Invasion in Bedford

Above: Vini Bunted Proeung, 20, of Lowell, has been charged with multiple crimes after a home invasion Wednesday.

Bedford Police have arrested a man in connection with a violent home invasion early Wednesday morning, during which one man was shot and two others were beaten. Police are still hunting two more suspects.

Vini Bunted Proeung, 20, of Lowell, was charged Thursday with home invasion, assault with a dangerous weapon, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, armed and masked robbery, and use of a firearm without an identification card, Bedford Police Chief Robert Bongiorno announced Thursday.

Police made the arrest after a non-stop investigation since police responded at 2 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a person shot in an apartment in North Road. Three men in their 20s told police that they were attacked by three other men who broke into the apartment. All three were hospitalized and treated for serious but non life-threatening injuries.

“This was an extremely unusual incident for Bedford. Bedford is a safe, family-oriented town that consistently ranks as one of the safest communities in the nation,” Chief Bongiorno said in a release. “So when someone decides to violate the peace of the evening in our community, we will act very swiftly and aggressively to send a message that this kind of behavior will simply not be tolerated.”

The attack was not random, police said, as Proeung worked with at least one of the men in the apartment. The suspects reportedly were looking for drugs in the home.

Bedford Police are working to identify the other two suspects and expect to announce additional charges shortly, according to a release. Proeung is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in Concord District Court.