Police are searching for a man accused of breaking into a woman’s home in the city’s east end and spraying her and her two children with foam from a fire extinguisher.

The incident occurred on Dec. 14 at around 10:11 p.m. in the area of Victoria Park Avenue and Crescent Town Road.

Police say a man walked into an apartment building and stole a fire extinguisher. He, according to police, then proceeded to use the extinguisher to spray the hallway.

Investigators allege that the man then broke into a residence, walked to the entrance of a bedroom, and sprayed a woman and her two children with the fire suppression device.

The suspect subsequently left the building.

He has been identified by police as Joshua Lenz, a 32-year-old Edmonton resident.

He is sought for a handful of charges including assault with a weapon, breaking and entering, two counts of mischief under $5,000, and theft under $5,000.

He has been described by police as approximately five-foot-eleven with short, 165 pounds, and has light brown hair and blue eyes. He has a tattoo of a spider web on his right hand and at the time of the incident, he had a light beard. He was seen wearing a black leather jacket, a grey puffy jacket, dark pants with a white stripe down the side, and light-coloured footwear.

According to police, Lenz is considered to be violent and dangerous and investigators are asking anyone who spots him to call 911 immediately. Police are advising members of the public not to approach him.

Anyone with information about the case can contact 54 Division or Crime Stoppers anonymously.